January 2013: The Game Plan

It's been awhile since I've logged onto my blog. Not because of lack of want to, but mainly because of time retraints. If I'm being real honest since starting school in September and schooling all four of the kids extra time has been hard to come by. I knew schooling all four of them would require some sacrifices in some other area, I just didn't know it would be my blog that suffered the most. I love blogging, aka: scrapbooking, but I refuse to feel like I have to do it all and run myself so thin I have nothing left to give my family. Thus my reason for being A-Wall for the last month, give or take.

At the end of 2012, three days before Christmas, my sweet hubby fell off the attic stairs backwards and broke the heal of his foot, and my oldest two sons had a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy after a day of woodcutting. At the same time, my oldest son was suffering from severe somach pains which led us to the pediatrician on Day 6 and the to the ER on Day 7 and then two more days until he found relief. The verdict: a weird virus which brought no other systems other than stomach pain. After a couple days of thinking we were on the road to recovery for everyone, I had a puking daughter, and a son with an ear ache. I know it just keeps gettting better right? So there you go all my excuses wrapped up in one big sob story. Although it sounds like a horrible senerio, it has been a priceless time of our family really working together to help serve one another.

On a happy and encouraging note, we had a lovely Christmas with family amongst the "mess". I have been able to work on a few quilting projects....yahooo for me! I finished a baby quilt for a dear friend who just added a fourth child to their family. I just finished binding my first ever mini-quilt last night. I also currently have a lap quilt top in the making. This has been the most quilting I have done all year long! It feels great to ecaspe life for little bits of time to be creative and make something beautiful. I am looking forward to next weekend when I am whisking away to a quilting retreat with a great friend and my mother-in-law! This will be my second year at the retreat. If only I could figure out what I wanted to create. Then if the fabric would just go ahead and cut "itself" out, that would be just lovely (thus the reason I adore pre-cut fabrics). I can't wait for what God has in store for us.

HOMESTEAD GAME PLAN:

I'm very excited with what 2013 has in store for us. Justin and I had a little farm meeting and set some goals for our homestead. We have made our list of projects we would like to check off our list. We have even made our list of "garden must haves". We plan to start on these lists once we get our first hint of Spring weather. (It might be a while we know.)

BLOG GAME PLAN:

I will blog when I can, which might be slim in this season of my life. Then again maybe we will continue to improve our daily school schedule which would allow for more time for me to blog. We shall see. Serving my family must come first, scrapbooking has to be later on the list. Thank you to those who follow us on our adventures and encourage me with your comments.

 

Much Love, The Gaertegang Homestead

Holiday Happenings....

The night before Christmas Eve my camera decided to take a poop on me! It's been a great little camera for 4.5 years...but really....why did it choose Christmas time to die? So I don't have any photos to share just yet..I have to download them from Hubby's IPhone...sometime. I also have been able to accomplish some fun things over our break...but I can't show you because of my camera situation. Can you see how this not having a camera is killing ME!! I take pictures almost every single day.....I'm feel like an addict having withdrawal (or at least I'm imagining it)! All this whining to say I'm shopping around for people's opinions on what camera they have/love and would recommend. At this point I am thinking of make the leap to an SLR camera. I would love to hear any and all opinions on what brands you LOVE, and which ones to stay away from......I'm ALL EARS...spill it!

In the mean time if you need me I'll be browsing obsessing over websites and reading reviews.

Random Picture Taking......

I love capturing random pictures of the kids...some posed...some not. Although, because I take their picture constantly as soon as they see the camera they automatically pose in some sort of fashion.

The first photo is posed by everyone except Lance......he was happy...really!

 See I told ya....that's better.

 Lance working away at his math....

 Julia snuggling up to her pink kitty

 Zach just chilling by the Christmas tree

 Since I am always taking their pictures, Julia likes to grab the camera and take mine. Usually she take pictures when I am in sweat pants, hair looks totally awesome (not)! I thought I'd post one that didn't scare you all instead.

Justin and Caleb hanging out

The kids performed their CHRISTmas program at church...Zach made a cute shepherd (I'm completely biased....and not afraid to admit it.)

 Miss Julia all dressed up in her new CHRISTmas dress.

 Moments like this are what carry you through all the referee work you have to do as mama!

 Cuddling kitties....always a favorite past time around here.

 By the time the new year arrives I think we all feel a bit like this......

Question.....

I've wanted to change up our bedroom furniture for the longest time now....and I was over at CSN Stores cruising their upholstered headboards and I wondered what some of your opinions were.

Do you like wood, upholstered, or metal. My house is decorated in a primitive country style....look around over there a bit and then come back and give me a couple of your favorites I can go check out.....

Happy Monday!

Not sure how much you will hear from me this week. This mama is feeling really yucky...sinus/allergy stuff going on...double yuck! We are pulling together the last details of redoing our office space, which leads to much re-organizing all of our homeschool materials. We also sold our camper, so we are cleaning that out and getting it ready for a new home this weekend. We signed the boys up for soccer...Good-bye Saturday mornings....

Does anyone else wonder if summer "break" is really a break at all? I think all I have done is complete one project after another...but it is a "break" from the normal happenings I guess. It does feel great to be so productive, but I think I am ready for a REAL "break" for a little while....nice thought in theory, hope I can make it a reality real soon.

While I am trying to feel better and finish things up around here....DON'T FORGET!!! Sign up for the super awesome giveaways I have going on right now...Tell your friends to stop in and enter as well!

Happy Monday!

My NEW TOY!!!

I recently entered the word of techy with my new purchase of an 32G Ipod Touch! My hubby has the IPhone and I have been eye balling one of these babies for months. I love the fact that I can do almost everything he can do on his Iphone (minus taking pics or making calls). I don't mind not taking pics..that is why I  have my camera, and I don't need to pay the crazy cost of the monthly phone bill/media package you have to have with the IPhone b/c it really is not a need for me. Well anyway, I TOTALLY LOVE my new toy (yep Genesa..your were right!) I have had fun browsing through all the fun and crazy cool apps that are offered. 

So far I have discovered the Bump app....which enable Justin and I to sync up our calendar stuff....super cool I am still baffeled how that all works!

I think it's super cool that I could download the Textfree app (used to be $5.99, but it's free now) and now text anyone and receive text anywhere that I have a wifi connection.

Okay so this one is kinda nerdy, but I really love The Weather Channel app......I love being able to see the weather hour by hour, 36 hour, or the ten day forcast whenever I want. I never know what the weather is suppose to be since I never watch the news.

My favorite music thing in the whole world is the Pandora app. Internet radio with basically no commericals and a random mix of the artists you like. I love that you can hear all this music for FREE!! (We already have this on our home PC so I knew I would love it.)

The Funny thing is I really like the stuff that is already loaded on my IPod Touch...I love the list maker....FB at my fingertips, my email, Calendar..oh ya.... no more paper calendar! Of course having my music/podcasts with me is so priceless.....no more contact tunes of my husband's pickings and my kids liking....unless I want to listen (insert angelic singing...)

Okay, all this to say I want to hear from you about the "Must Have apps" I have mostly Free apps loaded on my toy at this point. What apps do you have that you would highly recommend?

I would love to hear any and all feedback you have to offer.....or if you have any questions about the Touch...because maybe you have had your eye on one as well!

Happy Wednesday!

WATCH THIS!!! Best 3 minutes I have spent in a long time laughing...

DANIELLE

You Know You NEED To GO To The Store When........

You know you NEED to GO to the store when.......
Yesterday was a very sad day at our house...an all time LOW as far as meals go! Actually let me re-phrase...Yesterday was a VERY HAPPY day for my children, and a very pathetic day for this mama to swallow. I bet after all that you wonder what in world happened huh? Okay so here goes! Tuesday, April, 13th my two oldest children and I got our lunch for the gas station. Yep it is true, normally we pack our lunch on Tuesday, because we have classes to go to on that day...but I had NO GROCERIES for a portable lunches available. The only thing available in the area was a gas station. My kids got Hot Pockets and some sort of "pie" thing..they were thrilled! Then after going to classes all day we went to the library for a Science Central program and then off to a 4-H meeting. Well of course I had nothing quick to fix at home...so through the drive-thru at McDonald's we went.......Ohhhh the shame!! (yes I just might be being a little dramatic)
I was rescued when our meeting got over so early that I could make a dash to the grocery store before heading home......Ohhhh the joy!
Can any of you relate to having food in the house...but it takes ample time to throw it together (because I am usually cooking from scratch), but no "quick meals" or snacks? Well a day of poor planning will land you right where I was yestereday...that's what I get for not having a meal plan this week...proof I just have to keep my meal plans going or else this is what happens.....$12.XX on lunch at the gas stations and another $12.XX at fast food.....ohhhh that just boils my blood to rehash it all, such a waste of money in one day!!!!!! Guess our eating out money is gone for the  month....smile...

Moving on...live and learn....learn and keep living!     HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

DANIELLE

Is There A Difference Between Cheap & Frugal?

The question "Is there a difference between CHEAP & FRUGAL?
Webster's dictionary defines them like this.
Cheap = low in price, worth more than the price, easily got, of little value, stingy
Frugal  = not wasteful, thrifty, inexpensive or meager.

I am not really sure what prompted this thought, but it came to mind and I wanted to ask you all what you think. There may be a fine line between the two, but I think there is a clear difference.

To me, if someone calls me cheap, which has happened on more than one occasion, that gives off negative vibe. If someone calls me frugal I would take that as a compliment. I think that many people use these words interchangeably without a second thought.

To me, being cheap means paying less for something no matter the means...dishonest....or otherwise. Being cheap means you don't care who you have to step on to get the deal as long as you come out on top saving $$$. 

In my opinion, being frugal means making intentional decisions on all your purchases no matter how small they may seem. Being frugal is a thoughtful way of being a steward of the money you have been given  to manage.

What do you all think? Do you think there is a difference? I'd love to hear what you have to say.

DANIELLE

Oh My......2010 are you kidding me!!!

2010 just sounds weird to me....I mean I can't no believe that we are ringing in the New Year again....is it just me or didn't we just do that not to long ago? The older I get, the faster the year seems to go.....anyone else feel that way? Well we did not do anything to exciting to ring in the New Year. We hit the movie theater to see ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS......we all laughed so much and really enjoyed it just as much as the first one. Then we hit Walmart for a couple returns...then Pizza Hut for Book-It pizza cash in.....then onto the movie store to rent some flicks to watch while we waited to ring in the coming year. Well we got home to discover the clerk forgot to un-install the security things that hold the DVD's in the case.....so back to town to get those removed.....then we watched G-Force.....the kids loved it...then started Night at the Museum (#2) but then Lance felt really sick, Caleb fell asleep, and Julia kept asking for me to take her to bed.....Zach was still ready to party and stay up all night....grins......So at 11pm we surrendered and put everyone to bed and tucked ourselves in as well. Yep!!! Officially old and totally boring we didn't even stay up....
My mom, Julia, and I went to town the next day to return some Christmas items....boy, great day to go...TOTALLY dead!!! I guess everyone stayed up late and then stayed home to watch football...plus it was freezing. I picked up some Christmas stockings on clearance for $4.99 which was GREAT and I found six that coordinated together, which is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion.  I also had fun spending time with my mom and getting some things we needed around the house and for the boy's room. I am most excited about finding a new dresser for the boy's room (we are actually getting three new dressers...one for each of them....). They actually match and are new...both are foreign concepts to us for the most part up until this point. Nothing wrong with auction/garage sale non matching stuff...it's worked just fine for us for the past 10 plus years. I am excited to have the room look a little more "styling".

Anyone so anything super fun to ring in the New Year? Do you have any traditions you do each year? I would love to hear about it all.....


DANIELLE

Random Thoughts~~Because that's all I got in me today....

Well I hope you are finding some peace amongst the Christmas craziness. We have baked, wrapped (even re-wrapped a present that Julia thought was for her to open), and of course decorated. We are ready for all the family festivities to begin. We kick things off tonight like all other Americans, with a Bluegrass jam, okay so maybe not everyone does this....grins....just my husband and some others. Saturday and Sunday we have get togethers with extended family. It should be a good time....the kids can hardly stand all the excited that Christmas brings! I am not sure how many more "How many days till we open presents?" I can handle!!!  At the same time, I remember feeling that same way at their age....yes I can remember that long ago! One issue that is bothering me.....I CAN NOT find our stockings anywhere....grrr!!!! I guess I will just have to get creative and think of something else to use...shouldn't be to much of a challenge.....I am open to ideas you might have though......leave me a comment!!!

I would ask that you pray for Miss. Julia and myself. We both went to the doctor on Wednesday both diagnosed with sinus infections....nice of her to share, huh? Not so much! I'm totally annoyed and want to start feeling better. So pray the medicines will start doing their job FASTER!!! Also prayers that we don't pass it on to the rest of the brood in the mean time.....although Hubby has been complaining of a sore throat the past couple of days....which how mine started...ugh! Of course, he's not to sick to play some music tonight though...funny how that works....grins....

Well I am hoping to maybe post some pictures on Monday or Tuesday about our Christmas's this weekend, but I am not making any promises. (I figured you all are going to be busy yourself and probably won't even notice.) I am thinking it's time for a little blogging break during the holidays.... HEY!!!! DON'T forget to enter my current giveaway for that adorable Breezy hat!!!! (ends 12/31)


Remember leave me comments on what I could use instead of the stockings I can't find.....

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions you do with your family!

Here are a few of ours:
1. Load up and go check out Christmas lights!!!
2. Have Lance read Luke 2 before opening gifts.
3. We open stockings together & then go around room opening one present at a time (it makes the gift opening last a little longer instead of everyone tearing into everything and being done in 5 minutes.)
4. At Justin's grandparents, we start with the youngest in the family and they open all their gifts....then we move to the next youngest...and so on.....builds character in the kids because they have to wait their turn......plus we can actually see what everyone gets..LOVE that!
5. To share the love a little, one year we go to my in-laws for Christmas day and the next year we are at my parents house for Christmas day......to me it never really matters what day we get together, but it does to some.....we started this when we had our first child...worked ever since!

Merry CHRISTmas and thanks for stopping in to visit The Gaertegang.....much appreciated!



DANIELLE

Update...

So I can barely keep my eyes open at this point...only and hour and half of sleep last from (Sunday night is not cutting it for me.) I am not complaining by any means, I feel so blessed to have been able to go one such a great trip with my hubby. I can tell you that as I type this I am counting down the minutes until I can deposit my sweet children in their own beds so mommy can run and dive into her own!! Today (yesterday as you read this) was such a great day with us all. We put up our Christmas tree and got all that squared away...laundry all done...house clean still...amazing huh!!!....lots of hang out time with the kids and I even made a whole bunch of chili!!! I learned very early in my day that I needed to stay in the upright and moving position or I didn't have a pray to make it through my day. For me I just didn't want to simply "make it through" my first day back, I wanted it all to happen with an honoring attitude. It's no one's fault that I am exhausted so I wanted to be very careful about my attitude towards everyone as I went through my day. I also wanted my children to know how glad I was to be home with them again...not be grumpy at them all day. So I am happy to report that with tons of prayer and slowly putting one foot in front of the other, we made without any "grumpy" episodes....Whew...I know that was all God working cause I just to crawl into bed and sleep away my exhaustion....but with my four kiddos I thought better of it.....even though Caleb was so cute and kept insisting I just go lay down and take a nap. In Caleb's words, "Mom, I will just keep Zach here at the table drawing....when he runs out of paper I can get him more. Julia can just watch her Elmo movie and I will keep an eye on her too, no problem Mom." Of course I thanked him for the offer, and then went about my business.......Well, no school work was accomplished. I knew for everyone's sake we could only take on so much our first day back home.......Really that is the least of my worries today........so that's the skinny on what is happening around here...in case you actually care!

BTW: Totally off the subject, but I wanted to let you know about a couple of other things we are doing this year for Christmas or things we have done in the past when it comes to donations and organizations we support this time of year......I am planning that for Wednesday....My hope is to start in on vacation photos (probably more than you want to see) Thursday........and then at the end of the week with a new GIVEAWAY!!!!

DANIELLE

 Remember these fantastic views from our vacation to Mexico last year? Well in case you missed my post...my Hubby won yet another trip through work this year!! Ohhhh how blessed we feel to get to go on another get away from a week!!! This year we are headed to SUNNY Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

 So I thought with our big trip coming up again I would ask you all for your GREAT advice....on traveling! Have any helpful hint on packing, traveling, getting things in order for the kids while you gone? I would love to hear them!!

DANIELLE

"It's a Pary and Your Invited!!"

First of all Congrats to Beth you won the plug-in and one Bar of Sticky Cinammon Bun (ohh so yummy smelling!) Beth I sent you an email!!

I am hosting an online Scentsy Party! I thought this would be a great way to host a party and you can just stop and your convience from the warmth of your own home...the only drawback is that you don't get to smell the scents in person...sad face....If you want to read more about Scentsy read my review HERE.
Another great thing is that everything you order from this party is sent DIRECTLY to you!! So you can order from anywhere in the country and get it right to your door....which is so fun for all my bloggin friends and follwers!!!

Here is the link to go shopping!! Just look for me name, Danielle Gaerte, and then click on Buy and you can browse from there!!

You can place order for ONE week ONLY 11-5-09 through 11-13-09!!

 So HURRY over and Shop till you drop....


DANIELLE

Well I wanted to give a little commercial in case of you are in need of a cleaning service.  My mom has decided to start up her own cleaning business. So she is looking for anyone who can provide her with leads, or people to talk to about jobs, or people in need of her cleaning services.

So if you have relatives who are coming in for the holidays and want some deep cleaning done because you know they will give you the white glove test and there is no way you are gonna fit this into your schedule...Let me know and I can direct you to my mom. Of course I am speaking to those of you who live in my area...you know who you are! She is open to ONE time spring cleaning, or a spruce up before the holidays, to weekly or bi-weekly cleaning of your home or business......

So there it is my little commercial for my mama! I can tell you she is a great, honest, and hard working lady who is looking to do something she enjoys....not that I'm partial or anything...but I am!

Email me (jdgaerte@hotmail.com) or leave me a comment with your email address and I can direct you further.

DANIELLE

Blog Worthy Moment!

Do you ever have moments, events, or situations that happen to you and then it dawns on you "That is a blog worthy moment?" Well I do and my husband of course loves to tease me and say "You need to put that on "The BLOG"! "

So here is something to make you say "Ohhhh...so glad that didn't happen to me!" and maybe even laugh a little!

So yesterday, Monday, I am minding my own business and catching up on laundry, dishes, and meals....but then again when am I NOT doing one or more of those things? Anyway....I was in the laundry room switching up a load of laundry (whites)........well let me back track a minute....For the past two days I have been smelling this unwelcome smell from my laundry room. Since my laundry room also doubles as our mudroom/coat & shoe storage area I hadn't given it much thought. Only because I have had an extra amount of smelly things to wash lately because of a two year who is potty training (and doing well!!), and a four year old ,that shall remain nameless, that has been going potty IN HIS BED in the middle of night (grrrr!). So like I said, add that to the muddy, wet, dirty coats and shoes from playing outside and you get some less than delightful smells that emerge.
Okay back to the washer.....As I was putting in the last handful of wet clothes into the dryer I felt something fall on to my foot....my bare foot ,because I was wearing flip flops.....I DID NOT look down immediately, figuring it was just a wet sock or wash cloth......well then I DID look down and it was a DEAD MOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So as I was screaming and wiggling all around being totally grossed out, my boys came to my rescue me and ask what I was yelling about. I told them and Lance promptly said, "Oh mom, (sigh) no big deal it's just a mouse...it's no even alive..." Yep! That is the kind of sympathy I get around here!!!
Well I am happy to report that the yucky smell from my laundry room is GONE!!! I am also hoping that we very boring around here the rest of the week, because that is about all the excitement I can handle in one week...I like boring....uneventful....that's okay with me!!!

BLESSINGS,
DANIELLE

Guess Where I am going?

Hubby & I just got official confirmation that he has won another trip this year!!!! This year we are heading off to Grand Bahia Principe Resort in PUNTA CANA!!! It will be cold here when we leave for a 5 day stay....nice and tropical there!!...ohhh I am so spoiled....and LOVING every second of it!!

We celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary on November 6th, so I think it's makes this trip an extra special getaway time!!! I am so thankful for a Husband who truly loves what he does and works super hard at his job...which results in him winning trips like these. (The top 20 salesman in the US, for this certain company, get to go on the trip). I am REALLY thankful that they are able to take their spouses along...we only pay for my airfare!! I know to cool, huh?

I am so thankful that my hubby has a job that makes these otherwise unrealistic trips a possibility for us....That you Jesus for such a blessing!!!!

So if you need to find in the mean time, I will be on doing LOTS of sit-ups, arm work outs, and leg lifts in order to "get my beach body on".......that part NOT SO FUN!!! But ohhhh so worth it by the time the trip arrives!!!

BLESSINGS,
DANIELLE

Who's Idea Was It?

So I am wondering this morning, who's idea was it to get two puppies? Oh ya, it was mine....Hmmm what was I thinking? Well let's just say that the puppies which are now around eight months old are getting into everything. Each morning for about the past 2 weeks we have woken up and looked outside to find a new mess they have created during the night hours. Grrrr...Well the boys are getting tired of cleaning up after them constantly because with their sharp teeth they shred everything...making pick up a little time consuming! In order to aid in avoiding these messes we have moved EVERYTHING they could possible even think of destroying, chewing, ect. inside one of our barn......ya well we should have did this after the first mess......So now we are thinking we have things under control and have saved ourselves the frustration of paper, trash, or recycling being drug all over our yard!!!!!


Well this am I open the door so the boys can go out and feed the dogs/cats...and what do I find?


I found Lance's ABeka DVD curriculum chewed up and spread all over the yard....Ohhhhhh my, let's just say Mom was fit to be tied!!! I am sure it is not a moment I am going to brag about nor one I am proud of.....I PANICKED!!!!!!!!!!!! My first thought was "How in the world did these get outside?" I am the only one in the house that is aloud to even touch them......They are in our school cabinet area...which no one is suppose to be into either......My next thought was "I wonder how much this is going to cost us?" They have strict rules on the care of the DVD's and they have to be returned in the same box they come in...blah...blah...Then one of the kiddos who was already cleaning up the mess brought me two of the DVD's (they were chewed in half!!) and I saw that is said lesson 75...and the other lesson 115......then it dawned on me that the UPS man had paid us a visit (after we had left for my mom's yesterday to do more canning)....I got home around 1030pm and I didn't see the package left at my front door (we use the back door to come in and out of the house.)

So another lesson learned....Puppies can and will chew through an entire cardboard box and then proceed to chew through the hard plastic case that contains the DVD's....oh no they didn't stop there with their fun....they then chew threw the DVD's as well......All this on a full belly because "Yes, they were fed and watered!!!" I AM AMAZED!!! I annoyed that these FREE puppies cost me a $75 dollar damage fee I have to add to an already rather expensive curriculum.....They are just puppies so I am forcing myself to just chalk it up to this......(knowing that before long I will look back and chuckle at this whole drama scence.)

LIVE AND LEARN.....I have now asked to be informed via email when a package is on the way...which I thought they were going to do in the first place....

Blessings,

DANIELLE

Mama Buzz

I thought I would share some exciting news with you all......I found out about a new program starting up called MAMA BUZZ. It is a group of Christian Mommy Bloggers who get to review products in their own home then you write reviews on these products (Similar to the TOS Home School Crew I think.) You get to choose which products you want to review....BONUS!!! I filled out my application and have been accepted into the program, which I am totally excited about!!! I thought I would share this with you all in case you were interested in this program for yourself. If you click on the link I have on my left sidebar that says MAMA BUZZ that will take you to the site where you can check out the requirements, rules, requirements, ect. I don't know where they stand in the process, but they were looking for the first 100 accepted applications as of late last week.

So keep your eyes peeled for some reviews to come...although I expect it to be a little while before all the details come together......

BLESSINGS,

DANIELLE

Reminder

Just a reminder that I am "out" for the most part this week and we will continue with "Seeking Financial Freedom" next Wednesday!! Thanks for stopping in...I am anxious to be back!!