Living on a Budget

I thought I would share some pictures of things we have done around our house in the last 18 months since we have lived here. I love looking at pictures and watching shows about interior design and I imagine if I had all the money in the world I would spend a lot of it on decorating, but since I'm in school and my husband is a teacher I have found ways to work around our small budget and try to create my own HGTV-type house. Here are some of our savings...

These first two pictures I have already posted on my Blog, but I just wanted to post them again to show some of the savings in this room.

Paint = free!

Flower arrangements = free! (Thanks Becky)

Couches = no cost after selling all the other stuff we bought with them

George Washington picture = $80 saved $520

Red curtains = free!

Dresser for TV (not shown) = $100

Floral Accent Chair (not shown) = free!

I sat down one day and figured out it only cost me about $300 to decorate and furnish my entire front room and although it's not exactly what I would pick, the price is well worth it.

The Boy's Room

Here are some of Gideon's Birthday presents that we got on clearance at Target saving us $40.

Palm leaves, bug night lights and bedding = $10 saved about $140

(I really wanted these palm leaves from Ikea but I didn't want to spend $15 each, then one day while I was walking a lady was selling them at her garage sale for $5 each. I told her I would buy them and she said okay, then told me I could have the leaves, the two sets of matching twin bedding, two twin headboards, the two bug night lights and some other stuff all for $10 if I would just take it home...I said OKAY and now I have matching bedding for my boys.)

Dresser = Wes's old dresser from before we were married (I love reusing things)

Kids love sac = free! (somone left it on the sidewalk outside with a big sign saying free, we picked it up on our way to church one Sunday...I love the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure)

Mirror and pictures = free!

Plant = $5 saved $20

Bamboo shade = $30 saved about $30

Bunk bed = $50 saved $175

Bamboo rug = $25 saved $75
Paint = $11

Guest Bath Before

Guest Bathroom Now and Our Savings

Mirror = free!

New door = $25 saved $60

Light fixture= $30, I didn't save anything on this, but it was definitely in my budget.

Candle holder on toilet = $0.50

Paint to update vanity instead of replacing it = $10 saved over $100 easy

New hardware for vanity = free! saved $10 - $20

Paint for walls = free! (not my favorite, but hey who can beat free)

New 18 inch tile = free! (Thanks James) saved about $75

New towel hanger = $15

Red shower curtain - $7 saved $7

Dining Room/Office Savings

Dining room curtains and rod = $90 saved about $200
(I could have saved another $30 if I knew how to sew...next time maybe.)

Collage on top of the desk = $3 saved $20

Dining room wall = $40 for everything, saved approximately $300

(The picture of Christ was free, they were going to through it away because the glass broke.)

Dining Room/Office Before

Dining Room/Office Now

Paint = $35 saved $20

Desk = $100 saved $300

Collage and table in the corner = free!

Table, benches and chairs = $250 saved $1250

Wood floors for entire house = $650 saved $900 (We bought them from Ikea when they were having a huge sale, long before we knew we were buying a house.)

Savings = $4200 +

I hope to have pictures of our new bedroom set soon. We first saw it at Oasis Bedrooms and I LOVED it! However it was WAY out of budget. I figured I would try to watch for something similar on Craigslist and to my surprise a week after we had gone into Oasis I found the exact bed for $300, saving us $1300 and then a few days after that someone else was selling the exact dresser and nightstands. I took some slight bargining, but I got the girl to agree on $700 for the dresser and nightstands saving me another $1300. Who knew being patient could have such EXCELLENT rewards!

Happily Ever After

So at the request of my sister Sarah, I have decided to update my blog. I have never been very good at journaling, except for when I was on my mission when I wrote every day, but now I have 3 kids to feed, bathe, read scriptures with, pray and put to bed- needless to say journaling has fallen to the bottom of my to do list. Yet when Sarah and I were talking a couple of days ago she reminded me that blogging is like a journal and that I should do it more often.
Often times I feel like I don't have much to say that is worth reading, but who knows, maybe it will be worth it to my kids later on in life. So here's what I have to say today. I'll start with part of a talk from President Utchdorf that he gave in May this year to the Young Women of the church.
He talks about the fairy tale stories we all grew up hearing as a child, in which we often hear the phrase, "once upon a time." He says, "Aren't those wonderful words to begin a story ? 'Once upon a time' promises something: a story of adventure and romance, a story of princes and princesses. It may include tales of courage, hope and everlasting love. In many of these stories, nice overcomes mean and good overcomes evil. But perhaps most of all, I love it when we turn to the last page and our eyes reach the final lines and we see the enchanting words, 'And they lived happily ever after.'"
Elder Utchdorf continues by saying, "Isn't that what we all desire: to be heroes and heroines of our own stories; to triumph over adversity; to experience life in all its beauty; and, in the end, live happily ever after?"
He then reminds us that we are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and has given us our own fairy tale. We have been given a "once upon a time" complete with adventure, trials, heartache and love. Yet the best part is the fact that we have the chance to truly live "happily ever after."
I love these words. I love the fact that this life does not end here. I love that although I am not perfect I can continue to perfect myself in hopes of one day spending eternity with those I love most. I can't think of anything greater than knowing that I am a princess and that I really can have a fairy tale ending.
I know that my Heavenly Father loves me SO much. I am reassured of this every time my husband lays his hands on my head to give me a blessing, every time I go to the temple and every time I get on my knees to pray. How grateful I am for this knowledge, because not only has it blessed and comforted me, it has also helped me to try harder to raise my kids with love and gentleness.
I guess that's about it for today. And yes Sarah- I will try to do better at keeping up with my "journaling", thanks for the reminder. :)

I was going to add a few family pictures from our summer trips and adventures, but blogger won't let me upload them right now so I will try doing it tomorrow.

A Snip-It

So I'll be honest- I really should not be spending time adding to my blog, but I couldn't help put a couple pictures up real quick and giving a little update on our family.
Wes just signed his contract to teach a third year out on the reservation. It is not exactly his first choice, but the pay and benefits are outstanding and it's a job so we can't complain. We've been talking more and more about what he is going to do once I finish school and he is really leaning toward getting his PhD. (Will we ever finish school? :)) Once school is out this year he plans on helping me with some unfinished projects on the house and "hanging out". I can't wait!!!
I'm almost done with Block I and I couldn't be happier about it! Don't get me wrong I love what I am doing, but if I had known how difficult nursing school would be, I don't think I would have done it. However, with that said, I can't wait for Block II when I can start working in the hospitals. Once I'm done with Block I, I plan on getting my hair done (it's been 4 months, way too long), getting a pedicure and going to Taylor to visit my favorite family!!
As for the kids- Steele will be 4 next month. He amazes me everyday with the things he knows. He loves his babysitter, loves to play games and can't wait to go to school "like mommy".
Gideon is my sweetheart. He is learning some new signs (considering we can't get him to talk) and he LOVES to make you laugh. His facial expressions are the BEST! Wes really wants to potty train him, but I think we have a while to go before we hit that stepping stone.
Lily is growing so fast. She is standing by herself already, I can't believe it! She loves to wrestle and although I dress her in bows and flowers she is looking more and more like Steele everyday.
So that gives you a little snip-it on the Filhart's.

Wes and me at TeHaru's Sushi (they serve sushi on a conveyer belt....EXCELLENT!)
Lily Mae....isn't she adorable!

Ode to Elizabeth

So this is a picture of me and one of my very best friends Elizabeth that was taken back in March of 2007. Elizabeth, or Liz, as I typically call her, got married last weekend to a wonderful guy named Joe. She looked gorgeous and the wedding reception was amazing!

To give a little bit of background on Liz and I, we first met on Institute Council back in 2003. We hit things off as friends later in the school year and started hanging out all the time the following summer. Then in 2005 we both served in the same mission in North Carolina.

Ever since we have been home we have had our share of galavanting and fun! I'm so excited that she found an awesome guy and look forward to going out on dates with our hubbies.

Congrats Elizabeth!!!!

Nursing School

For those of you who don't know I start the nursing program at MCC on the 19th. I'm so excited, but a little anxious about leaving my babies in the hands of someone else for part of the day. However, Wes gave all of us blessings last night and I have to tell you that the peace I feel now is wonderful! In his blessing he reminded me of some wonderful promises that will come to me and my family as I receive my education. He also gave me the reassurance I needed to know that my children will be in okay.
Then today as I was eating watermelon with the boys, the thought crossed my mind- Thank goodness for nursing school because I have been making the most of the little moments.
I know that sounds silly, but ever since I found out I got in the program I have been letting the less important things fall by the wayside and allowing myself to do things I wouldn't normally do, like watch a movie with Steele in the afternoon when I should be preparing for dinner or having foam sword fights with the boys when they should be in bed. Even just eating lunch with my boys or holding Lily has become more special.
Let's just say our home has been filled with lots of random dancing, tickling, running in the halls and laughing. I love it and although I will be a very busy lady, I still plan on focusing more on the little moments in my life which in my opinion are the most important moments.

Random Thoughts

My friend Sheryl posted this on her blog and I loved it! I meant to post it last week and forgot until Kaylee put it on her blog. I laughed just as hard reading it for the second time. ENJOY!

Random thoughts from people our age...

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
-Was learning cursive really necessary?
- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet you anything that everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

Etc.

These pictures are long overdue because I lost my camera cord and just barely found it. So here goes...

These first pics are of my friend's little girls.
Lily and Savana Brisolara

Adele Evans and Lily

Our "breakfast for dinner" after Lily's and Maycee's blessings.
Marianne and Tina in the kitchen- THANKS GIRLS!

Doug holding a very dirty Gideon- he was playing in the fire pit when I wasn't watching.:)

Mom and Lily

Steele went with Wes to a conference and had a blast needless to say!
Gideon LOVES Lily. He also loves her swing. In fact he has pulled her out of it to get in it. Poor girl!This was our October project- Paving our front porch and landscaping our yard.
I think the boys enjoyed having a sand box for a day, in fact Steele keeps asking me to pick up the pavers so that he can play in the sand again.
More pictures of the finished project to come.

My happy little girl! This was on one of the few cold days we have had in AZ.
The Crew!

Now these next 3 pictures are old, but I just found them.
These are 3 of my favorite kids!
Rylee Shirley, EmmaLee Washburn and Steele.

Steele's first guitar clinic! It was AMAZING!

The Zoo with the Shirley's and Michelle and Abigail.

And last but not least, our most recent family picture at Halloween.
I LOVE THIS BUNCH!