Really, really tired..

It has been easier bringing Lexi home than it was with Rafe. Mostly bc the big 3 are older. Addy wasn't walking yet when we bright Rafe home. Still, things are far from easy. I'm extremely tired. Lexi caught the kids' cold and slept almost zero last night. It's hard to find the time to do everything and make sure I give each kid the attention they need. Rest, routine, enrichment, and cleaning is a balancing act I do not at all have perfected. I guess lucky for me I get to try again evey day. Today I played checkers w Gabi during nap time, although I really needed a nap myself she needed mommy time more.

Tuesday Laundry?

Doing laundry on a Tuesday for me means only one thing: I'm a day behind. By yesterday morning all 3 big kids were fighting cold, so there was a LOT of screaming and fussing and fighting yesterday. I didn't even get laundry sorted much less started. In fact, Rafe was so upset after one tine out that he picked up a barbie car and threw it on Lexi's head!!! I was very upset. She cried some, but otherwise seemed to be okay. Today, they seem to be feeling better. The fighting isn't nearly as bad, and they are running around in Halloween costumes. Tomorrow Mitch's pay shows up in our account, so for a few fleeting seconds I'll feel euphoria and not overwhelmed with all the overtime. If only I was kidding!!

Pics went well! We pick up the cd on Friday. Rafe was a bit timid with Santa at first, but ended up asking for a soccer ball. Addy hoped up first and immediate started grilling him, asking ginn something about "why didn't you something our stockings." She just asked for a present-easy enough. Gabi was excited but got a little flustered. She asked for a binki, then said she got a doll for her bday, accidentally told him the baby's name was "binki baby," amid the excitement, then corrected herself and told him it's Bitty Baby--it was so cute.

I am a little bummed bc after pics Mitch bought himself a new $450+ ps3 bundle. I feel like he got rid of his old ps3 and tv just to upgrade to newer much more expensive ones. I don't like tv, and I loathe cable and video games. It's just like what is the opportunity cost?!? What other (productive) things could you be doing??? Sigh. Especially since he wants to take 13hrs this semester. We need less distraction not more. All I can do now is surrender. As my mom wisely noted, "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?"

Speaking of happiness, it's been 7 years this dec since I left Carroll. 7 years since I've seen essentially everyone I went to school with excerpt for maybe 10 people. Kinda crazy. I doubt I'll ever see most of them again, which is good and bad, depending on who we r talking about lol. Equally crazy is how many KMC ppl I do still see. Did Mitch have closer friendships than me? Idk. Maybe?

I'm just about done Christmas shopping. Totally stumped on my parents and grandparents... Stockings are coming along nicely.

The shitter's full

It's 10am, I just finished changing my 5th poopy diaper of the day (this only includes the ones after 630am, because I don't recall how many I changed through the night), and I've been COMPLETELY out of wipes since the last middle-of-the-night-poopy. Mitch is at work, and Rafe and Addy woke up sounding congested and sneezing, so there's nooo wayyyy I'm taking them to the store. Btw this is also picture day. To quote Christmas Vacation, "The shitter's full." Thankfully the dresses are steamed and Rafe's shirt is ironed. Everyone needs fed, bathed, and a nap before 4:30. Wish me luck!

FRIDAY!

I shouldn't be that excited bc Mitch works both days this weekend, BUT I'm glad because Aunt Alli came over this morning! All week she's been planning on taking Addy to the Nifty Nuthouse. She's got a ton of Christmas gifts to buy. They left about 15 minutes ago, and Gabi is STILL crying that she didn't get to go. She's known all week only Addy was going. I know she's disappointed, but I don't feel bad. It's good for the wolf pack to be seperated every once in awhile and to be out in the world without their safety net. I laugh, but it's very apparent that they are becoming more of a wolf pack every day. Without meaning to, they intimidate other kids because they do "roll four deep" and have such a rapport among themselves. I'd be intimidated if I was facing them alone as a small child! A friend visited over Thanksgiving and Rafe told my friend he was going to throw HER in the trash, and Addy immediately followed that up with, "and I'm spraying my [spider girl] webs on both of them." Not quite acceptable in society! :-/

Yesterday the big girls and I got our teeth cleaned. It was Addy's first time. I wasn't sure of how she'd do, especially after getting scoped earlier in the week, but Jodi is an AWESOME hygenist, and Addy did fantastic. She did better than Gabi actually, who refused to have bitewing xrays because she thought she might sneeze and bite her cheek... Anyway, when we made our 6mo appts it was just 2 days before Addy's 4th bday! Hard to believe!!

Erin, I DO have lots of baptism pics! I need to find time and figure out how I'm going to post them. The one good thing about FB is that I could put it to where only "friends" could see my pics. I hate to have them all "out there." I saw an alpaca farm article in the Eagle a few days ago and thought of you ;)

Pottery Barn made me very happy on Cyber Monday. I've never bought anything from PB before, but I LOVE their style and could live in a PB magazine and be completely happy. Anyway, there is this duvet cover I've wanted for over a year. I first saw it last fall. It's a wintery duvet cover with snow covered branches, berries, and cardinals. So beautiful, and so something I would love. On Cyber Monday I bought it. Got it on sale AND got free shipping. The shams arrived a few days later, but my cover was supposed to be on backorder until Jan 6th. I got it last week. YAY! I love it--and can't wait for Mitch to give it to me on Christmas hahaha.

Amazon also made me really happy! I always buy diapers from there, and bought some for a potty-training-in-progress Rafe last week. When they arrived only 2/3rds of the diapers were in the box! They sent out another 222 diapers and said to keep the rest. HOLLA. Hopefully those are the last diapers I need for Mr. Rafe!

This is such a random post. I'm missing FB today because The Office last night was sooo funny and I really wish I was quoting it to AMANDA!

Lexi is doing good. Quickly getting chubby cheeks! She was 3wks yesterday! It goes so fast. She holds her neck up really well, and is hitting those 1mo milestones like a champ. I swear she already knowingly smiles at me. That or she just smiles A LOT.

I still have so much to do for Christmas. The biggest things are 1)stockings 2)finish my super duper special heirloom bears!!!!

El Fin.

From phone

ENT was good. Like the dr. He did scope her. She sat on my lap, and I held her head. My mom went with us and held her hands. She did good, but having a camera go down your nose into your throat can't be comfortable. Thankfully anatomically looked fine. The dr didn't see any nodules and vocal cords looked good. At the bottom of the vocal cords there are two things the dr described s joints. They were red. He said her hoarseness is from either a residual cold or reflux. She came home from nicu on two reflux meds. He decided to put her on prevacid for a month to see if that helps. If not he'll do a barium swallow study to c if she is refluxing. Overall good news. I figured it would either be reflux or damage from being intubated for so long. We got frostys on the way home :-)

Dec!

If you're going to judge me based on how my bathroom looks, please do it today! :) We're leaving for Addy's appt in 2 hours. I'm hoping they don't have to scope her because I know she will NOT like that!

Home alone w 4..

Monday was my first day home alone w all four since Lexi was born on 11/17 thanks to Thanksgiving break. It was very tough. None of the older 3 slept. They were in terrible moods by dinner time. Mitch didn't get home until almost 5 bc he's working 10hr shifts. The over time is hard on both of us. I try to remember we are both sacrificing for the family: Mitch's body and my sanity! After dinner that night I showered then started in bathing children. Once the older 3 we're done I put then to bed and fed Lexi while Mitch showered. Glad I didn't bathe Lexi before that bc she spit up for the first time! Her umbilical cord stump fell off, but for now I'm sill doing sponge baths. I like to do that the first few weeks. Yesterday was much better at nap time--only Lexi didn't sleep. Today nap time has again been crummy. Rafe is down, Lexi nursing, Gabi laying down, and Addy removing ornaments. Which reminds me, we got a live tree this year! My first ever. I'm excited. Ppl say they are a maintenance item to water and sweep after. Obviously those ppl don't have 4 kids at home! I sweep several times a day and try to vacuum twice daily due to brown rugs. A live tree is no problem! Our December is filling up fast. Lexi is being baptized on saturday. Addy has an appt with an ENT for her hoarse voice next week and an eye appt later in dec. All us girls have teeth cleanings. Not to mention Christmas pictures, Christmas candy, gingerbread making day, and various Christmases with relatives. Goodbye November 2011... I'd post thoughts on labor/delivery but phone is ab to die..

Mag sulfate

I shouldn't have shut down fb! I've been in the hosp since 9pm last night, mag since 11pm, had first ruins of steroid shots last night, and have had a heck of a time w a particular resident. After 19.5hrs of no food, Jensen finally came to the rescue and told these ppl to feed me!!!!!! Ctxn are slowing. Will be on mash at least another 22hrs. Will update/edit sperling when feeling better. Haven't vomited yet..

Sorry Been Busy!

We had a really busy week with closing on the rental. I've been trying to get all the utilities hooked up. Water and gas are on, but because it was a foreclosure and electric had been turned off for 6+ mos we had to have an electrical inspection. A few things weren't up to code, the biggest fix I think was moving the smoke detector to the hallway--so nothing major. We're trying to get a second inspection scheduled, so electric can come out, and Mitch won't have to work without AC! I feel bad for him and Mike! A pipe did burst when the water was turned on from being improperly winterized, (great job, City) but that's been fixed. The bedrooms are cleaned out, cleaned up, and except for tape, are ready to be painted.

I'll be 23 weeks tomorrow. 22 weeks is when our little Saint Lily went to Heaven, so it's always an emotional week to get through. I've done great though, not having hardly any contractions at all. The biggest things have been staying hydrated, not getting too stressed out, and surrendering everything.

School is going great! We all love it. We got an awesome calendar from Amazon. It's huge but it's got weather and calendar. I also got the skirts made for the girls. They're soooo cute!! Tomorrow or Wednesday I'm expecting some Ariel fabric to come in. They're going to an Ariel play with Grandma in less than two weeks, and I'm going to make them matching dresses for the show.

On Saturday a family friend--so close she could be considered family--unexpectedly passed away. Because of the heat my grandma doesn't think I should try to make it to the funeral. I'm hoping we'll get a break in the heat, and I'll be able to go, but it is hard on me. We'll all miss Dora. I'm so thankful she was able to make it to Grandma and Pa's 65th anniversary and see everyone. Her husband was sick for a long time before passing, so we're glad she didn't have to suffer in that way. She's got a treasure trove of good deeds completed on behalf of our family, and now she's enjoying Paradise and her Eternal Reward. I'm especially thankful she already made our new baby's afghan--all the kids have one. : )

"debt ceiling"

What a JOKE!! Maybe the Republicans should consider cutting the war budget instead of just austerity measures to the ordinary American. They don't want to upset the bigs/fatcats/oil companies who support them. All of the wars we are a part of are rooted in oil control. We don't care about the countries that kill their citizens UNLESS they've got lots of oil.

The whole debt ceiling crap is complete fear mongering. "Financial armageddon" will never actually happen. The government can print money endlessly, so obviously we won't default. If we hit the ceiling the executive arm will overstep its power and declare a national emergency and from then on the prez will be able to do anything he/she wants without any checks and balances.

The sick thing is O-bomb-a is going to come out looking like a savior. His ‘12 campaign slogan will be, “I saved all of you from missing out on social security and disability checks.” Republicans are committing suicide. Instead of coming across as “badasses” they’re just being asses. I wish it wasn't so. The Dems are just as bad and self-serving. We've had a one party system under the guise of two parties for far too long. Wish I had a solution.

On a lighter note, Lesson #9 in Teach Your Child to Read has the child start sounding out words. We did Lesson #10 today, and Gabi was sounding out "sat" "am" and I don't remember the other. It's going great! I bought some "school supplies" at Walmart today. I always love a brand new notebook--got myself four hehe.

The Great Recovery...2

I really enjoyed Dave's take on a bottom-up approach to fixing the economy. I think he's right, and I think it's time for everyone to get involved fixing their personal economy, to fix their local economy, to fix their state economy, to fix their regional economy, to cure our country. I definitely live in the boundaries of one of the poorer parishes, and I feel like I have to talk to Father about getting an FPU class going.

If you didn't have time to watch it last night, try to find an hour to watch a replay of the live event here -- do it! Get off the fear train and regain real hope for the future. Dave talks about a biblical approach to managing money, and while of course it lends itself to using his program, he says start by reading Proverbs because of all the timeless money wisdom. One really cool thing I enjoyed about the talk was thinking about the repercussions of an entire community standing together and getting their finances in order. He said all predatory lending would cease without legislation, but by virtue of education of the lower class they prey upon. He said it would bring back the middle class, which is the most common way to pass into the upper class. America one thrived because of the large middle class. He talks about when it became government's "job" to create jobs with trickle down Keynesian economics..... maybe most people didn't enjoy econ as much as me, but he didn't go deep into the history, just enough to show this isn't how our country was founded! He didn't go politial, but it was very, very Bible based and Church community centered.
Don't be afraid to talk about it! MONEY has 5 letters not 4, it's okay!!!

The Great Recovery is underway! Hop on now! I love my family. I love America. And I want a bright future for both!

The Great Recovery

Watch this trailer for Dave Ramsey's address he's giving the 21st. Are you signed up (free) to watch?? I'm interested to see what he has to say. I think the recovery will begin with community and neighbors helping out neighbors, so maybe Church communities will be a good place to begin.

http://www.thegreatrecovery.com/?ictid=lm1.tgr.announce

One week 'til closing on the rental!

School Progress

We completed the 7th "Teach Your Child to Read" lesson today. So far I'm very pleased. Addy and Rafe get in on the sound practice as we orally review in the evening. The lessons themselves are pretty short, so as I think of it, I just have them all repeat after me. So far we have the "m" "s" "e" and "a" sounds, and today we learned "t." I made Gabi lay down and nap today because the last few evenings she's been fussy, and as soon as she woke up she told Mitch, "We learned a new sound today in school - 't' - and it always has to be short." With all the other sounds we hold them like "mmmm" and then say it fast "m," but you can't hold "t," so she was excited to tell him. Then of course Addy and Rafe made their "t" sounds. So fun to watch them all learning at their own level!

We got the Saxon manipulatives kit for grades k-3 a couple days ago. It's got pattern blocks, a scale, bears, clocks, ruler, dominoes, and other things that are needed for the lessons for grades k-3. Gabi was soooo excited to get it. Thank goodness we only had to wait 2 days thanks to Amazon Prime! lol. They all want to do math ALL the time. In the kdg book it only lists 12 lessons per month, and they've already done two. I wasn't planning on starting anything but the "Teach Your Child to Read" book until August, but they're just biting at the bit. This morning they played with the pattern blocks for 10 minutes while I watered the chickens and garden, then told me about what they'd made. Gabi made a person and a Christmas tree with ornaments. Addy made a tower. Rafe was just saying the colors. I had helped him start an abstract pattern, and he just placed pieces around that.

We're really liking it so far. It's taking me back to my kindergarten days. We had the exact same math kit. I remember we had ALL the manipulatives that came in the kit. It also does daily weather/calendar updates like we did in school. I looked for a calendar that had weather that I liked, but I guess I'm just going to have to do my own thing. I want one where the kids can decorate it month to month, and there just wasn't really anything like that.

Happy Birthday to Uncle Michael! Almost an adult ;)

Budget Part 2

In the first budget post I talked about some of the finer points of decreasing expenses like selling toys and cutting lifestyle. We looked at sample lines in a budget, and I gave ideas for lowering some of those expenses. Now I'll write about how to find out what you're really spending on discretionary items, when and how to use envelopes, and how to implement a zero based budget.

If I've gotten your interest, hopefully you've written a rudimentary list of lines in your personal monthly budget along with figures of what you think you spend on each item. If your budget shows you should have $500 left at the end of the month, but you aren't seeing it, the problem is you're spending more than you wrote in the budget! Look back at all your expenses. Some lines will be cut and dry. For example, your rent/mortgage payment won't change from month to month. Other lines will vary, but you'll know in advance how much you're going to owe, like the utility bills, and you should be able to come up with an average amount. For other lines, you're going to have to pick a number and make them obey.

Those are the envelope lines. For many of our daily expenses we use cash envelopes to make sure we don't go above the amount we intended to spend. Every two weeks, $150 goes into the food envelope, $30 goes into the toiletries envelope, $20 goes into the pets envelope, $60 goes into the kids envelope, and Mitch and I get our cash. When an envelope has run out, it's gone. If we want something and don't have the cash in an envelope to buy it, we force ourselves to wait. Delay of gratification. Simple in theory, difficult in practice. You'll get used to it, and believe me you'll like seeing your debt decrease/savings grow as the case may be.

We've always had a budget since Mitch started working at his current job, which was about a year before we bought our house. About 1.5 years ago, I felt like despite having a budget, we never stuck to it, and we never got ahead with savings, although we were able to pay for everything and never incur debt. At the beginning of a pay period it would seem like we should have $300 left over to save, by the end of the pay period it had been spent. We had two problems.

One was solved by implementing the envelope system. Food was where we were hemorrhaging money. I remember at the end of one month I logged into our bank account, went over our statement, and we had spent over $550 in food. It was ridiculous! It was not what I had written in our budget. We were eating out way, way too much. Part of the problem was Mitch would buy stuff at the cafeteria at work or go to QT, and instead of it being allocated to his blow money, it would end up (by necessity) being added to the food budget. Envelopes really helped get our discretionary spending on track, and put an end to petty arguments.

The second problem was solved by applying the zero based budget at the beginning of each pay period. Our pay hits the account every other Thursday, but every other Wednesday I can view the amount. I began deducting all our expenses for those next two weeks from the total paycheck, and on Thursday we'd all drive to the bank and the amount that remained in the "save" column would be applied to our mortgage. I gave about a $15-20 leeway, not going down to completely zero, but I made it close enough that we wouldn't be tempted to spend extra. This made a huge impact, immediately! This is where the magic happens. You're saving at the beginning, not at the end, and it's a done deal. If you had consumer debt, you'd write a check or automatically pay your current lowest amount the first day. If you're saving up for your efund, that amount goes in the efund account the first day.

This is a huge step, but to take it you have to be incredibly detailed. I do my budget handwritten in a spiral notebook. At the top of each page is the month -- "July 2011" -- below that I have on the left hand side, to the left of the margin about 5 spaces down, I have a list of our expenses starting with "tithe." On the left hand side, to the right of the margin only 4 spaces down I write "Due" and then everything gets either the due date or an "E" for envelope. Tithe I pay the entire 10% for the entire pay period the first Sunday after we're paid. Sinking funds are automatically deposited into a different account. CFCA, PITI, gasoline, cell, internet, and MMA/YMCA all have the same due date each month. I get emails from gas/electric telling me their specific due date each month. Water sends a paper statement, so I write down the due date when that comes in the mail.  Then on the first line, in two columns, I write the pay periods: 7/14-7/27 and 7/28-8/10. When I find out what our pay is, I write it on the second line directly under the pay period. Then I fill in the variable columns of "tithe" "Mitch$" and finally "save"! Voila! There will be no hidden, "Whoops--forgot I needed to pay that." It's very liberating. And the best part is seeing your savings rise/debt decrease.

Another way to make life easier is autopay. CFCA, PITI, gas/elec, water, gasoline, internet, and cell are all auto pays. It comes out when it's due and not a day before.

This segment comes with many tasks. Ask if you've got any questions!! But that is how to get the most out of your paycheck. Once you've mastered your budget you'll be ready to expand your thinking beyond getting everything paid on time to thinking about how to increase your salary. Start a new career? Get additional training for a promotion? Move into passive income? (more on that later) It will open many doors.

Try it for 3 months starting with your next paycheck. I bet you'll be amazed at how much more money you seem to have.

The B Word

Budget.
budget
budge-it

See, it's not so bad if you break it down. A budget is a written plan of what you intend to spend money on during a given time frame. Some people see budgets as restrictions. "I'm an adult, no one can tell me what to do." Part of being a mature adult is telling yourself what to do. Just because you "can" spend all your extra money on expensive clothing (even worse if you do it on credit!!) doesn't mean you should. A budget doesn't make you less free; it makes you more free. Free from worrying about having "too much month left at the end of your money," as Dave Ramsey often says. Free to give yourself "blow money" that you don't have to be accountable for. Free to plan your future and shape it in any way you want. As the Bible says, "the borrower is slave to the lender." Start your journey towards financial freedom and peace now!

In my post probably a month or so ago, Step 0.5 was to sell toys. The bigger ones like ATVs and boats will make the biggest difference when you sell them--especially if you owe on them (not to mention maintenance). If your budget is tight, this will help free up money and get the snowball rolling. Selling other things that you're no longer using will bring in some extra money and free up space. We've sold old furniture, P90X exercise videos, Mitch's heavy bag and speed bag (and stand), and various other items on Craigslist. A few weeks ago Mitch shocked me when he told me he was thinking about selling his PS3. He finally realized on his own that he didn't have time for it right now with family, school, work, a rental in the works, and golf. He sold it for just over $200, plus two games for almost $60. THEN (this is really going off the deep end) he sold his big screen TV the next week!! I mean I guess we weren't going to use it with no PS3 to watch movies or play games on since we don't have cable. Idk, some kid drove in like an hour with his brother and bought it for $475--which is surprisingly high for a 3yr old TV. The same TVs were going for "$400 with free shipping" on ebay.. Plus Craigslist has no fees!! Anyway, I was really, really shocked with selling those things. Until he bought an expensive driver for golf and a new TV for upstairs. Our old one he'd bought almost 5yrs ago and the buttons were pretty shotty, but we have the remote so it still worked fine. Sold it to his little brother for $20 ;) I've REALLY, REALLY been enjoying seeing Mitch in the evenings and not having him fall asleep in the basement.

Step 0.6 normally meets with resistence. Cut lifestyle. This will become more clear once your budget is written. You'll go through every line and see where you're willing/able to make cuts. In my opinion, the fewer lines in a budget, the better. "Keep it simple, stupid," but it also means fewer payments and less money going out. Gym memberships, cable TV, smart phones, eating out, manicures, etcs are nice... but they're a whole lot nicer if you've got no debt to worry about. If you love manicures, still get them, but use your "blow money" on them, don't necessarily add an extra line in the budget for it.

We cancelled cable once two years ago, then had it hooked back up during football season. This last time we had it unhooked (over a year ago) was permanently. After having only a 30/mo internet bill, I couldn't reconcile paying 120/mo for the garbage that's on TV. The only tv channels we get upstairs are from a $10 antenna from Walmart which gives us a few of the basics. The only thing I watch (err, watch"ed" since it's the off season) is The Office. Life for a melonchaly soul like myself is much easier without the evening news. The ONLY news I watch/read is financial news that I look up myself on the internet.

Another important thing is to BRAG about your successes. Paying something off. Selling something. Cancelling something. Taking on a second job. Working overtime hours. BRAG! You're making positive changes, it's GOOD to brag! Just make sure you're bragging to someone who really loves you and won't be jealous--a sibling, parent, best friend (maybe!), ... or post anonymously and brag here! I'm extremely happy for other people's success. As I've said before, I think there is more than enough success to go around. Besides, "Whatever you do, comes back to you, multiplied by two, or twenty-two." Your happiness for others will bring more happiness into your life!

If you've hung in this far, you're ready for THE BUDGET! *horror movie screams* hahaha no, no, it's fine, because we're only going to "budge it."

Start by looking at Dave Ramsey's monthly cash flow plan, available here. If you're feeling lost or overwhelmed, click on the quickie budget form, or if you've got irrigular income check that out. I think he includes way, wayyy too many lines in his sample budget. Write down the ones you need, and we'll go from there.


After rereading this, I think putting some #s in here might be helpful to those who want to compare, even though we're a 5 (almost 6) person family. Here are the lines we have in our budget:
Tithe 10% varies because of overtime
CFCA (charity) $30
Save $varies because of overtime
Sinking Funds (for car insurance, security system, car tags/taxes, Christmas) $260
PITI (prinicpal, interest, taxes, insurance on primary residence) $560
TI (the taxes and insurance on the rental since it won't have a mortgage) $100
Gas/Elec $100
Water $30
Gasoline $250 (what we shoot for! back before gas was so expensive..)
Food $300
Toiletries $60
Cell $78
MMA (Mitch's kickboxing) $65
YMCA (need to cancel because I haven't been able to go because of the pregnancy!) $33
Kids$ $120 (will be $160 as of mid-November!)
Pets$ $40
Mitch$ $60 + 8% of overtime pay after taxes (of course overtime is incintivized--is that a word? ha)
Mandi$ $60

In a zero based budget, everything "leftover" goes (at the BEGINNING of each pay period, because once we're done we'll know exactly when each payment is going out) to knocking out debt smallest to largest. If you're debt free, then it goes towards the 3-6 month emergency fund, and if that is fully funded, start on retirement, college funding, and paying off the house.

We have health/dental insurance, life insurance, taxes, and union dues, all taken out before we ever get a paycheck, which is why these things don't have a line in my budget. We don't have any copay for doctors visits, and if one of us gets sick it's only like $4 per prescription, so it just comes out of toiletries or some other line. The Kids$ includes diapers, clothes, and anything else they might need that doesn't fall under food or toiletries.

The two ways to have more money is to increase income or reduce expenses. Obviously paying off debt reduces your monthly expenses, but we also have to look at lines in the budget that can be reduced or eliminated. Start at the top and move down.

Sinking Fund: Every year or two I check rates to make sure we're still getting the best deal on car insurance. Also, I pay our car insurance yearly to get a 10% discount. We get a discount to pay the security system yearly as well. We have to pay a little bit more because we only have cell phones, but it's less per month than having a landline. Last year for Christmas I think I spent just over $1000. We did homemade gifts for lots of people--the kids LOVED it. Gabi has many requests for homemade gifts she wants this year. I think it's the sweetest thing ever that she wants me to make her a teddy bear and bunk beds for her Barbie dolls. I'm feeling confident in being able to make their Christmas dresses this year, too like she's requested. Mostly because I have my Grandma and mother-in-law to fall back on!!! I'll do an entire post on homemade Christmas gifts later... it's fun, and, much more than saving money you're spending more time thinking about what the receiver would like--not just what deals Walmart has in their Black Friday sale!

PITI: Can be lowered if you find lower house insurance (or get a discount for having a security system, etc) or if the home values in your neighborhood have gone down you can try to get your house reappraised.

Utilities: Be mindful of your consumption. We keep our AC at 79 in the summer and heat at 68 in the winter. I'd go lower if I didn't have small kids who liked to run around half naked all the time! When I was on bed rest with Rafe I was really good about unplugging everything not in use--lamps, cell phone chargers, keyboard, computer charger, and I even tried to get Mitch to put the tv/dvd player on a power strip so I could turn that off but he thought I was getting too crazy about it! When he redid our bathroom we made it all water efficient with a low flow sink, shower, and toilet. The worst thing for our water budget is summer, heat, and flowers. UGH! I'd rather let them die than spend $130/mo on water (which, YES, we did last night). I've been looking into water barrels and planting basically a field of prairie flowers native to our climate in the backyard. The kids would REALLY love that. They already have a section of our yard they call "The Field" lol.

Gasoline: We spend way too much here. Both cars have V8 engines and mine is a huge SUV. Mitch has to go to work 5-7 days a week and school 4 days a week. We do the best we can, I usually only drive out West to my parents house once a week, but we still spent $500 last month in gas. Prices are just ridiculous!! This fiscal month (which ends tomorrow) we've only spent $275. Still, I hate it.

Food: Meal plan, cook from scratch, and don't eat out!! Or use your blow money to eat out or only do it occasionally. I love cooking; I hate meal planning. It's so hard with Rafe's milk protein allergies to come up with stuff! Lasagna is off the table. Meatballs have to be modified to not have parmesean. I have to make white sauces with almond milk or water instead of milk and use walnut oil instead of butter (which believe me is expensive!). Even breakfast items like pancakes, french toast, and muffins have to be modified to not contain milk. I really hope he outgrows it. I use coupons but only if it's things I need. Unfortunately a lot of it seems to be things I don't give my family. You never see a coupon for grapes!!!

Toiletries: Definitely coupon here! Making your own laundry soap is another more "radical" option. I did it for over a year, but Mitch didn't like this his clothes smelled like nothing, so I bought a big thing from Sams and use a small amount!

Cell: Talk to your provider and see if you switch to a cheaper plan. Some people go with prepaid phones they buy from Walmart and put their sim card in.

MMA/YMCA: I'm going to cut the Y today until 6wks post partum. No point in paying it if I can't go, even though Mitch's work does subsidize and pay for part of it. Mitch loves his kickboxing. It's 65/mo for 4 days a week, but I know he needs something to do, and there's no way to cut it.

Internet: This is where cable would go if we had it. We just called and cancelled! The first couple weeks will be hard, but try it out for 2 months, and I bet you'll like it. Get outside, play a board game, talk, figure out a way to increase income, be productive!!

Kids$: I made homemade baby food for all the kids and will do it again this time. As far as diapers I tried cloth for awhile with Rafe and Addy, but Addy potty trained fairly quickly and Rafe with his allergies would blister if he was poopy for 1 minute before I saw/smelled it. I might try it again with the new little lady. My dad made me a sprayer that attached to the toilet, so changing poopies weren't that bad. Right now I spent $40 every 6 weeks on diapers from Amazon for Rafe, so not toooo bad. Plus I get free Amazon Prime (2day shipping). We're also about to take a trip into homemade clothing. Gabi's really into it. Everything she sees she wants me to make. Poor child thinks I'm Martha Stewart... I'm going to try!! We found a very simple (free) skirt pattern. It shouldn't take too long to whip up, especially with help. Here it is! It'll be nice for Addy, I'll be able to make it fit her super tiny waist, and she won't have to have it pinned or rolled over!

It's basically just having a frugal life mentality. Things like making a lot of food at once and freezing it so you don't have to use the oven/stove as often, adding lentils or beans to meat to make it stretch further, or hanging towels/sheets out to line dry. Not to mention the garden which I anticipate will grow larger every year I'm alive and able to plant! In my opinion, the less reliant upon the grocery store the better and healthier. Even though our income will be going up about 550 after taxes/insurance with the rental we're not going to suddenly eat out more, increase our blow money, or get every TV channel known to man. We're going to increase our retirement fund (which to me is actually saving money to obtain more passive income--more about this another day, but I don't have more in the stock market than I'm willing to have go to $0) and save for vacations and experiences for these kids!! Really, when you look back on your life do you remember all those great, awesome tv shows you watched? Or do you remember time spent with family? It doesn't have to be a Disney World vacation. It might be primitive camping, fishing, swimming, and hiking, but that is when lasting bonds are made. Now that I've written a short book I'll leave you with one final thought:

We are spending less on life but living more.

PS: It's easy to write "Food $100" but unless you go cash with an envelope and STOP when the envelope is empty, you'll be bleeding money somewhere. I'll go more in depth next time. For now, just write out your budget items and the amounts you think you spend on them. Look at that total vs your total monthly income to take your "financial temperature." We've still got work to do. Today I just wanted to look at what a budget consists of and ways to lower expenses.

Just Keep Swimming

Not a huge Nemo fan, but that's what I told Mitch when we were talking about the week we've had thus far!!

The Liquid Fire smell took two days to dissipate. The kids and I spent Monday and Tuesday night at my parents. They were unruly the entire time and slept terribly. Besides that, it's hard on me going up and down the stairs 20 times a day. By Wednesday I was ready to come home smell or no smell. Luckily, it was almost at "no smell." Rafe had his 2yr check up at 4, at 3 after naps we headed home. On the way Mitch called after getting home from work. The AC was off and the house was 88. Ahhhhh!!! Usually we can push the reset button, and it starts working again, but not this time. We headed for Grandma and Pa's house. Mitch picked Rafe up from there and we unloaded at Grandma's and Pa's.

Of course it's always nice and peaceful over there. It was almost easy with just 2 kids!! Less fights, less food to worry about spilling, less noise! Mitch dropped Rafe off and went home to work on the AC, but I prepared the kids (and myself) for maybe having to spend another night away from home. First thing, Rafe pulled his shorts up and showed Grandma his bandaid. Then he walked into the living room and showed Pa and me lol. We were at Grandma and Pa's until 6:45. By then Mitch had the AC going (cleaned it and changed the filter) althought it was still 87 degrees. We went to his parent's house while him and Michael went to kickboxing from 7:30-8:30.

We FINALLY made it home at 9. I was in first while Mitch unbuckled the kids, so I had to be the bearer of bad news: AC off; house 88. He put the kids in bed and went back out to work. That time it turned on and has stayed on ever since. It was a hot evening to say the least. All the kids slept on the top bunk because there's a vent near the ceiling by the bed. I also kept cool rags on them until 11pm when I went to bed. I guess we all made it okay, and this morning the house was down to 79 (where I keep it).

We're SO HAPPY TO BE HOME! It's sooo much easier to watch the kids here. Plus they have all the new toys from Rafe and Addy's birthdays. This morning Rafe ran right past me for his basketball goal, and all the kids have been rotating turns every 5m with the Flinstones car. Not always willingly, but it's helping keep the peace.

I think buying a house is stressful in and of itself. I've been busy filling out paperwork to refi our house. This way we'll be able to pay cash for the rental--AND our house pmt will go down bc of interest rates! Gotta say, I am excited to tweak the budget to include a lower house pmt PLUS rental income. In a few weeks the stress will be over, and we'll be glad we pushed the limits and endured the stress for long term payoffs.

Just Keep Swimming! The shore is in sight!

It's a...

GIRL! :P

Happy Bday to Rafe!

Rafey turned 2 yesterday! He's getting to be quite a big boy. We have no shortage of action figures! He also got a basketball goal, a Flinstone style car, John Deere tractor, and some clothes. He's such a sweet little boy, but he definitely has an ornery streak in him, too! He has been by far my earliest talker, which I'm sure is influenced by two big sisters to imitate and model after! For the most part he's using 3-4 word sentances, but he will occasionally bust out something like, "Gabi drank it all up mama." The kids all had a good time, but I'm glad birthdays are over until Gabi and Mitch's at the end of October.

We planned on having a small party at our house at 5:30, but at 3:15 Mitch poured some Drano type stuff called "Liquid Fire" down the bathtub drain. By 3:19 we were smelling a hideous smell. Gabi said it smelled like "bad eggs" and yes, it was a sewage/rotten egg smell indeed. I thought it was possibly toxic (there were warnings ALL OVER the liquid fire), so we retreated to Grandma and Pa's house! Mitch tried to air the house out, but by 5:30 we were meeting at his parent's house for the party. Improvise and roll with the punches! :) Mitch took the muscle car themed decorations and cupcakes over, and everything worked out fine. The kids and I stayed the night at my parents and word from Mitch as of 8am, the house still smelled.

We're in for a couple of busy weeks now. Hopefully today we'll learn Baby's gender, tomorrow is Rafe's 2yr checkup, and in two weeks we close on the rental! Alli decided for now she needs to focus on buying her house from Mom and Dad, so Mitch and I are buying it alone. I can't wait, but we've got a lot to do between now and then. Thankfully Mitch's last CATIA class is this Friday, and Calc is over the 28th.

So far, I feel like deactivating FB has been very fruitful! I've wanted a rental since 9th grade, and FINALLY we've got a signed contract. I've felt like I should homeschool Gabi for a few years, and while I'd researched different curriculums, I hadn't DONE anything. Now we've started "school" despite not having the entire curriculum yet. I've had a list of craft projects I want to do, but have only done very basic stuff. Now I've got an ever growing rug, and I've found that my parent's neighbor knows how to knit and can show me how to make the Christmas stockings!

So say a prayer for us today, and maybe we'll find out if Baby is a boy or girl this afternoon! 20 weeks today--halfway there!

I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off...

Or maybe HE does!

Lol no we didn't really let him run around with his head cut off. That's too messy!! That is my Grandma on my dad's side. She is a professional chicken hitman, and came over to take care of the rooster for us! She crawled into the coop to get him (normally he's aggressive and goes to the door when it's open, but he could tell she had rooster blood on her hands!), then took him to the tree, tied him up, and cut his head off. After he hung there awhile to let his blood drain out she dunked him in boiling water, which helps the feathers come out more easily. Once he was plucked she singed the remaining hairs off over the grill (because our candle lighter was out of fluid). Then she brought him in, removed the insides and cut him up! He was large enough to save the bigger pieces for frying, and we boiled the smaller more bony pieces to make chicken with homemade whole wheat egg noodles. We had the noodles last night and are frying the rest this evening. He was big and fatty! I'm glad we won't have anymore crowing! She took the small bones for one of my uncles dogs and the guts for fishing bait. Not much went to waste! :)

Last year I didn't really tell the kids what was going on or what happened to our chickens, but this year Gabi asked, so I told her. None of them really seemed to care... I told them it was like chicken we eat at a store. Rafe actually stood at the back door and watched, but the girls played barbies instead.

After finishing with the chickens, Grandma started a woven rug and showed me how to finish it. I wanted to make one for the kids room because the one in there is old and dirty, and I know for a fact both dogs have peed on it. But this seems like it's going to take awhile, so I'm not sure how big it will end up. The one in their room now is huge. They would make good Christmas presents though! And it's definitely something easy to do on the couch.

I felt like it was an incredibly productive day! AND THEN Alli called me around 5 saying "offer accepted." Mitch and I even got around to watching another 30min of Lord of the Rings after the kids went to bed! Woo!

Potty Training Sucess Part 2

Rafe has been pottying in his potty seat in the mornings and a few other times throughout the day as he feels like it. Most of the time he says he still wants a diaper. I think because he's a little jealous of the new baby, he wants ME to change him. Yesterday he threw a 15 minute fit because Mitch changed him instead of me! Anyway, this morning on top of going potty in his potty when he woke up, he stayed dry all night long! That's huge! But not the end of our success..

Rafe had gotten up at 6:30 and peed. The girls woke up about 7:10 and pottied, and as I was leaving the bathroom to fix their breakfasts I saw Rafe taking his diaper off and sitting back down on the potty. I figured he was just doing it because the girls were and that he didn't have to go again yet. Soon Gabi called in that he went, and I was shocked to go in and see that he had pooped in the potty for the first time!! Completely on his own iniative! What a big boy!

Summer is all over..

The Fourth of July was like the top point of a rollar coaster, and it's all down hill from here. School will be back in session before you know it. Or at least that's what I was told every summer I was in school. Thanks Uncle John!! The worst part is: he was right!

Still, "Back to School" was always a happy time. The smell of new crayons, the feel of fresh notebooks, a fresh resolve to get 100% in every class and not miss a day of school... lol it was great. While none of my kids are old enough for school, as I said Gabi and I are going to be starting a kindergarten curriculum soon. I'm sooooooooooo excited. Some of the coloring books in the kindergarten curriculum I found on ebay for $1-$1.25 instead of the $3 they were charging at OLVS. I also found the Children's Bible and Little Talks with Children About God cheaper at this same place on ebay. They should be arriving in a day or two. Amazon had "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons or Less" for about half price. They also had the Saxon kindergarten kit for about $15 less, so I bought both, and they're coming in today! I've read a lot of good reviews on the "Teach Your Child to Read..." book. The Duggars even have it listed on their website as a Family Resource. I think the whole thing is going to be great!

I also ordered from Solve Family Problems--a Baptist website the Duggars also recommend. I got the "Character Series" the "Parenting Series" and my mom ordered the "Fear Series." We are super excited about this, too. We actually ordered the mp3s almost a MONTH ago, but we still haven't been able to listen to a single sermon. Why would someone order an mp3? To get it immediately! The mp3 part of their store is new and they're working out kinks, but I'd spoken with the receptionist half a dozen times, and we still hadn't gotten the mp3s! Finally my mom called and this receptionist, bless her heart, said, "Well you know why you haven't gotten the tapes, right?" Mom was pretty taken aback, and of course said no! "The devil." I about died laughing when Mom relayed the story. She went on to say that whenever someone is going to be greatly helped by the tapes they have an awful time getting them out and that they have to battle often. I believe her, BUT I did tell Mom they might benefit from some good ole Catholic Holy Water!! Okay I did more than tell Mom that. I emailed the lady and told HER that!!!! Ohhh so bold. LOL! Her response? Well, no ACTUAL response, but she sent a new invoice saying she added a few extra titles--none that a Catholic would need lol "questions and answers about eternity" and "can I be saved from all my sins at once?" I'm sure it was a kind gesture. Oh, and what did mom respond to the devil comment? After being taken a back.. "GOOD ALWAYS PREVAILS!!"

I pretty much feel like I am where I need to be as far as financial knowledge for the time being. We know where we want to go, what we need to do, and we have a plan. So instead of reading gobs of real estate and finance books, I'll probably be reading about parenting and education.

I've also got a lot of projects lined up in my head for the bed rest months, which don't seem so insurmountable as they did when I was pg with Rafe. I basically went on bed rest with him at 12wks, and here I am now 19w1d outside on the laptop while the kids run through the backyard. I'm wanting to knit 7 stockings for Mitch, the kids, and I for Christmas. I've found the pattern, found the yarn, now I just need to learn how to knit! Unforunately I missed a Groupon for "Twist" last month $15 for a $40 class. If anyone has one they aren't going to use, hook me up! OR if anyone else is interested in a beginners knit class, COME WITH ME! Mitch's mom is going to help me with a couple basic sewing projects. We are starting with a SUPER simple skirt for each of the girls, and hopefully we'll be culminating in gorgeous Christmas dresses. Gabi really, really wants me to make her Christmas dress for some reason, so I'm going to at least give it a shot!

The garden is doing great. Lots of flowers, but no fruit that I've seen yet. ACtually we may have beans, but I'm not sure what immature beans look like as I've never grown them before. Not sure if these are flowers or baby beans. Everything is green and growing. The corn is taller than Rafe!

Our rooster started crowing this morning... lovely. 5:46am. Sorry neighbors!! Grandma hasn't made it up for the buterching yet. She called Sunday, and I think she's coming over Thursday.

I have another sonogram scheduled for next week to check cervical length. Addy is probably enjoying the pregnancy the most of any of the kids. She is always kissing my belly and talking to the baby via my belly button of course lol. Gabi will occasionally kiss my belly but ONLY if my shirt is down, and Rafe I think is feeling rather jealous. He alllllways wants me to hold him, and more than once has tried to hit my stomach!

Okay one more quick story.. Yesterday I was laying on the couch with my face to the wall when I heard Gabi telling Addy, "Sit still, your hair is going to glow." Then she started singing the "Flower Gleam and Glow" song from Tangled while brushing Addy's hair. It was so cute that I made them do it again while I videotaped!

Have a Great Day!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Cake pics from the 65th anniversary. I shooould have taken pics of everyone or at LEAST of Grandma and Pa, but I didn't. We got there a few hours early because lunch was at 12:30 and we normally have lunch at 11:15 or 11:30 followed by naps around 12, so we were exhausted by the time we left at 1!

The first cake is the "Elopement Cake" Grandma was a nurse and Pa was in the Navy hence the hats on the ground. I believe this building is supposed to be the nursing dorms where Grandma was in school. Pa was home on leave and they just decided to get married! The tied sheets coming out of the window signify the elopement.

Second cake is self explanatory :P

This last cake is of the cabin. It's got 8 pairs of booties for their 8 kids, bottles, toys, sports equipment, and fish. Happy Life

OLVS

We got a 2 room 8 person tent yesterday. I can't wait to use it! I found it on Craigslist new and unopened for $80--saw it on ebay for $250, so Mitch went after it. Hopefully it will be cool enough on Sunday to pitch it in the backyard for a little staycation.

The big news is that I've decided to buy a kindergarten homeschool curriculum for Gabi. She doesn't turn 5 until the end of October and August 31st is the birthday cut off in Kansas, but she's more than ready and biting at the bit for more. We're going to be using a Catholic program, Our Lady of Victory School. I think we're both going to love it. I think the curriculum looks really good and is definitely Catholic. From Catholic phonetics, handwriting, and science books to Catholic art books (math is Saxon), the whole thing is heavy on Catholicism. Praying the Rosary daily and Stations of the Cross on Fridays are also part of the curriculum. I'll let you know how it goes! If she ends up too far ahead for kindergarten next year, Kansas law says she can go straight to 1st grade by virtue of completing kingergarten. I'm not concerned with that right now. We'll just try it out and see how it goes.

Bedtime!

The kids have been taking long, late naps, and unfortunately it has pushed bedtime back. Kids can't fall asleep if they aren't tired! So we've been going out to play in the early morning and late evening when it's cooler--which means even later baths and books and blessings! I do enjoy a little afternoon siesta though!

Jensen is doing another cervical length check at 20wks, less than two weeks away. Maybe this time baby will show his/her gender! Heart rate was 146 again today--same as during the sonogram. Nothing else to do but keep waiting.

Before bed Gabi asked me if I've ever played with paper dolls like Laura and Mary (from Little House on the Prairie). I thought it was cute because we finished the series a few months ago, but I do believe she caught every word! AND I told her yes I've played with paper dolls! Grandma Margie used to get them for Alli and me to play with when we were at the cabin.

On a Grandma/cabin note, she called me today and said she found the Parable video we kids used to watch at the cabin. I'm SO EXCITED because I've searched for it everyyywhere. I still remember the videos and stories and everything. The kids will love it.

Well Rafe and Addy just ran in here--back to bed!

Busy Summer Days

Right now I'm laying in a lounge chair outside while Mitch and the kids play tball. Addy just got it for her birthday, but they are all already so good at hitting! Tomorrow I see Dr. Jensen, and we're submitting an offer. I'm very excited about it, and Mitch is very excited for more projects. Hopefully Friday I'll finally be able to meet up with this craigslist guy styling a brand new 8 person tent. That will give us room to grow, lol! Saturday my grandma is going to butcher the rooster for me, and we're planning on fried chicken for the Fourth. Sunday is my other grandparents 65th wedding anniversary! We're getting together to celebrate that. And Monday of course is my favorite secular holiday, the Fourth of July! If only the next 4.5 months would go as quickly as this next week is going to go! It's all good. One day at a time...

And Baby Is...

We don't know! The sonogram tech couldn't get a money shot! She said she would guess girl based on not seeing any definitive boy parts, but she didn't have a percent sure or any pics that says boy or girl on it. So... guess we'll wait until next time! Cervix length looked good. I see Jensen Thursday. I'll start bugging him about another sonogram then ;)

Happy Birthday to Chelle!

We had a nice birthday party with grandparents, aunt Alli, Matt, and uncle Michael. Addy had a hootie owl theme with butterfly cupcakes. She opened all kinds of presents. Before bed I asked what her best thing of the day was, and it was blowing out her "3" candle. Her favorite present was some 2 inch Disney princess figurines. She is always pretending toys are people. Maybe their toothbrushes will last longer this way. :) She also got a tball stand that Rafe has in his bed right now, lol. Great day. HAPPY BDAY CHELLE!

rest for the weary

Poor Mitch is working himself to death with the housework. It's a lot to take care of a 5 person home. Laundry alone is a core even when done faithfully every week. If anyone has ideas to help please tell me. My sister is going to try to come help with the bathroom, a load or two of laundry, and dishes when possible. I'll be 18wks Tuesday and have to start slowing down. So I'm basically taking about moral support I can give him, so he knows I appreciate everything. I can feel the baby a lot now. So awesome. It never gets old. With Addy's Bday in a few short hours I'm reminded of the terrible realities of nicu and the ups and downs of a micro preemie. I'll do anything in my power to keep this baby safe and sound until mid november. Anyway this is taking forever bc I'm in bed on my phone. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Next time..

It went for 40k--our max bid was 35k.  Boo!  I really, really liked that house.  It was weird, I've never been to an auction before, and I didn't even know it was ending.  There was no "going, going, going, gone" like in the shows.  Got some experience for next time.

Auction

We're attending a home auction today at 10am!  Wish us luck!  We're visualizing getting the house for $25,000.  Ready to take the plunge--gotta get back on FB somehow!  Oh and Mitch had an interview yesterday.  They said they couldn't offer anywhere near his current company's insurance/benefits, but they said they had part time positions available for a second job type thing.  It would be cool because he'd be working with CATIA which is the computer program that he learned in all those CAD/CAM classes, buuuuuuut I just don't think there are enough hours in the day.  With work, school, and house stuff it's like he already has 3 jobs.  I guess we'll see if he gets called back for a second interview.  I do feel like I'm having a lot of success with the facebook hiatus.  If nothing else it's got me thinking creatively.  I'm working on a prototype for an invention and also writing a curriculum for some classes. 

All OK!

Hey peeps.  Decided to deactivate the ole fb for awhile.  It hasn't been permanently deleted, I just have some other stuff to focus on right now.  Don't worry, I'm ok, baby, kids, Mitch, dogs, chickens, and garden are all doing fine, too.  Our biggest news right now is Addy will be turning 3 on Monday, and we find out the new baby's gender Tuesday!!

I had my budget post written out but decided not to post it.  I may post an edited, watered down version of what our zero based budget looks like, just to give anyone curious an example.  I'll be content with being an example and not force feed finances down anyones throat.  Just because I'M a nerd, I know everyone isn't.  It comes down to "control what you can control," and even though I'd love for everyone who reads this to be as successful as they desire (in all areas, not just finance), I can't control anything but my own destiny. 

That being said, FB will be reactivated once we're making $1000 more a month after taxes, on top of Mitch's base pay not including any overtime.  Until then, I've got no business wasting time on facebook!  In 2012 we want to take the kids to Texas, Disney World, and rent a lodge in Colorado for Christmas, which requires moolah.  So, Universe, hear this: "I AM A MONEY MAGNET ATTRACTING IDEAS AND INVESTMENTS THAT WILL MATERALIZE MY FINANCIAL GOALS."

We've started the kids working on a "comission."  Monday they picked up rocks at $0.10 per ounce.  They've each got their own envelope.  Gabi is saving for a Tangled nightgown and stuffed animal with big eyes from Hobby Lobby, Addy is just going to put hers in the "saver bank" (girl after my own heart!!!), and Rafe wants to buy himself a flag.  So funny.  Anyway, they're all really motivated for the jingly stuff!!

Is it pointless?

Is society really afraid to change? Is a year or more of sacrifice not worth a lifetime of freedom? Is selling your car now not worth one day having the power to give away cars? Is admitting you're responsible that scary? I'd love to know. I shouldn't be posting when I sound so down! I felt like a great cheerleader yesterday... but today feel afraid like I put myself out there to people who just shake their heads and think, "Mandi is out of her mind!!"
Time is on (most of) our side! Don't let age get you down though, Col. Sanders didn't franchise KFC until he was 65! But I'm sure all will agree, the sooner you do this, and the younger you do this, the better! There are sooo many ways to lower expenses. Many of them are for those with Gazelle Intensity. Those who are excited and ready to do this. If you think that may be you, but you're afraid, Put Your Fear Behind You! You can get control over your life and your finances.
Tomorrow when Mitch is at school, I'll tackle budgeting. Hopefully I can remember my google docs username and pw!

What a poor blogger am I!

Lots to update between now and the end of April, but I'll keep it as brief as possible.  A good portion of it will probably end up as rambling because I had a bad headache today and am really tired. 

I had surgery for my cerclage on May 21st, and it went very well. Recovery was awesome--about as good as my recovery with my first cerclage.  I'm 15 weeks pregnant as of today, and I really need to start scaling back.  It's so hard to do!  My gender sonogram is in 3 short weeks!  Can't believe it!  Still hoping to find that little Leo is on his way.  Mitch is already working himself to death and I'm still doing almost all the cooking and cleaning: 40+ hours of work, weekly laundry, lawn care, and his summer classes have just started. He goes for 3 hours three days a week and 4 hours one day a week.  He's also been busy digging the garden bed (which is thriving!), and I need another one dug soon for my fall pumpkin patch garden.  If that wasn't enough, he's also in the middle of replacing our deck. Things are always busy.  So glad he's got the work ethic of a dozen men!!

We had a momma duck sitting on 5 eggs at my parents house.  They live by a lake, and on  Memorial Day we killed four snakes who tried to eat the eggs.  That night we put crystallized moth balls around the nest and all was well for a few days... long story short one by one they were eaten while my parents were at work or the store.  The kids saw first hand what had almost happened, so they weren't too surprised with nature taking its course.. but my poor dad was pretty upset about it.  He was really looking forward to having baby ducklings hatch out for the kids.

This last story I need to add just so I can look back and laugh one day. After Grandma Kathy helped with baths this evening Addy said she needed to potty, so of course Rafe said "potty, too."  Addy pottied, and Rafe sat.  Rafe took it upon himself to empty Addy's potty--over a closed toilet, which made a big mess.  I shooed them out of the bathroom, and then went to grab a diaper for Rafe.  He told me he pottied, but his potty was empty.  I asked where he had peed, and just as I sat in the pee he told me, "Right there, momma."  I walked into the kitchen to find Gizmo had also just peed on the floor.  At least they're all in bed now...

Since I will probably have a lot of blogging time the next few months with summer school, I thought I'd do some Dave Ramsey related posts.  I just bought 5 of his Total Money Makeover books at a really great price --$4ea including shipping! His website often offers them for $10 plus $5 shipping so $4 is dirt cheap--anyway I bought 5 to give away to people who will read/use them.  Dave Ramsey is all about getting and staying out of debt.  He advocates paying cash for school, cars, and even houses (although he isn't against taking out a 15yr mortgage that is less than 25% of your take home pay), and never using debt.  I obviously am a DR koolaid drinker, and I strongly believe in the method.  I think the most effective and most intimidating part of his plan is writing (and sticking to!) a budget.  Hopefully I'll be able to make budgets less daunting, and show how we put into practice a "zero-based budget"--where each dollar is allocated every two weeks with Mitch's paycheck.

*If you are interested and want to borrow or have a TMMO book I still have 3 left.  I only ask that you return it if you don't use it or no longer need it, so I can give it to someone else!  If you need any help I LOVE writing budgets and planning, so consider it!! There's more than enough success for everyone who is motivated to TAKE IT. 

Enough preaching.  These are the 7 Baby Steps including smaller "to dos" that go along with them:

0.1 - Commit to NEVER borrowing money or using credit cards ever again (with the exception of a house)
0.2 - Write a Budget (I'll cover this in the next post! As well as how to lower fixed and variable expenses)
0.3 - Temporarily stop retirement contributions (This is so you can be laser focused on each step--retirement is Step 4)
0.4 - Get current on all your basic necessity bills (house, utilities, food, basic clothing)
0.5 - Sell toys (boats, ATVs, extra vehicles) if you owe on them and will prevent you from being debt free within the next 12mos.  Many people sell these even if they are paid for to get the snowball rolling.
0.6 - Cut lifestyle (get rid of cable, get cheaper internet, lower cellphone bill--some drastic ppl do prepaid Walmart phones, stop eating out, the more GAZELLE INTESNE you are, the better!)
BABY STEP 1 - Save $1000 for the Baby Emergency Fund.  $500 if you make less than $20,000/year
1.1 - Cut up credit cards
1.2 - Get health insurance
1.3 - Get life insurance
1.4 - Sell any car you can't pay off within 24 months and get a cheap one off Craigslist that you can pay for with CASH! My first "Dave Car" was a 2000 Ford Explorer.  I think we paid 3500 for it.  Now I'm driving a $14k Yukon Denali--the car upgrades will come! You aren't less of a person because your car isn't 5yrs old or newer!
1.5 - See if it makes sense to raise insurance rates on the paid for in cash car from $500 to $1000, and also consider getting liability only.
BABY STEP 2 - Debt Snowball like Crazy!  Pay off all debts (lowest balance to highest--not by interest rate..yes I do know math, folks.  This is based on psychology.)  Pay minimums on all payments and throw all extra money at the lowest debt.  Once it is gone, add that minimum payment to the next lowest debt, along with all extra money, and before long you'll be DEBT FREE BABY!
2.1 - Take a CA$H vacation if desired!
BABY STEP 3 - Finish the Emergency Fund!  3-6 months expenses for emergencies ONLY.  This amount varies based on your budget--it will probably be at least $10,000, but it could be as much as $30,000.
3.1 - Start car replacement fund if desired
3.2 - If you don't own a home yet and want to buy, save up that 20% to avoid PMI
3.3 - Start furniture replacement fund if desired
BABY STEP 4 - Start contributing at least 15% of gross income to retirement funds.  If your place of employment matches partially, all the better.  Dave and I disagree here.  I don't trust the stock market and don't have more in it than I'm willing to lose overnight.  I like tangible assets--land, precious metals, real estate, etc.  Dave is so against gold it isn't even funny, but Gerald Celente (a trends forecaster whom I greatly admire) has been forecasting "GOLD $2000" for years... long before it rose to where it is now.  I say you'll want to do a LOT of research when you get to this point.  Dave likes mutual funds, mutual funds, mutual funds, oh and real estate. : )
BABY STEP 5 - Save for Kids' College -- daunting if you're planning on having as many children I've got!
BABY STEP 6 - Pay off the house!!! BEST ONE OF ALL! Same as Debt Snowball, but now you only have one payment.  Everything extra after retirement and kids' college goes to the mortgage.
BABY STEP 7 - Live and GIVE like no one else!  Have a monthly "vacation" line in your budget.  Give away 100s spontaneously at Christmas.  Sponsor children in third world countries.  Have fun with it! 

I really hope that was intriguing not overwhelming.  Next post I'll go right into budgeting.  It's a living, breathing document that changes month to month.  Gas/elec/water bills will vary.  Gasoline will vary.  It needs to have flexibility. Okay I'm stopping myself. ENJOY!

Jesus, I Trust in You

Tomorrow (Good Friday) is the beginning of the Divine Mercy 9-Day Novena which ends on Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter.  It's one of the greatest and easiest ways to gain a full plenary indulgence--a true testement to Jesus' unfathomable Mercy.  If you don't have a Divine Mercy booklet, the words and a more complete explanation can be found here. 

My booklet states 7 ways we should observe the Feast of Divine Mercy:
1. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter (which is widespread now)
2. Sinerely repent of all of our sins (becoming detached)
3. Place our complete trust in Jesus
4. Go to Confession
5. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast
6. Venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy (Jesus coming forward with a red and white ray piercing forth from his Merciful and Sorrowful Heart)
7. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf

To make a plenary indulgence you also have to pray for the Holy Father and his intentions.  Generally a Hail Mary and Our Father are accepted as fufilling this requirement.  Confession should be within 8 days  before or after, but on the EWTN website it states within 20 days.  And, something I just found out on the EWTN website, is that you can apply the plenary indulgence to yourself (obviously) or a deceased loved  one!  That would be a very merciful deed to say it for someone who has died.  3pm is the Hour of Mercy, but the novena may be said at any time throughout the day.  It really doesn't take much time.  The daily readings are short and the  Divine Mercy Chaplet only takes about 6 minutes.  Best of all, it's a great way to Console Jesus' Merciful and Sorrowful Heart.

SDS Butterflies - Dill

If you recall my butterfly album from facebook last year, you'll remember the beautiful butterflies we hatched out from caterpillars we attracted to our garden.  About a week and a half ago we planted our dill again this year to attract the swallow-tailed caterpillars.  It has now sprouted, and seeing it this morning reminded me to blog about it. 

It's a really easy process, and it's so fun and educational to watch the life cycle of a butterfly.  If you want to attract the caterpillars to catch and watch morph into butterflies, now is the time to buy dill seed and plant it.  The variety I buy is "Mammoth Dill."  Since you're most likely not going to be eating it, there's no harm in buying the potentially genetically modified stuff from Walmart or any other store.  If you have a spot to permanently dedicate to dill, plant an entire packet or two, and in the late spring or early fall it will "go to seed" and come back up every year. 

I'll post more about it as we go along...

SDS Resurrection Rolls!

We've made Resurrection Rolls every Easter since Alli and I were little.  They're a tasty way to teach the Easter story.  There's really no way to make these low fat, and believe me if you have more than one you will feel sick, but don't let that stop you!  Pick up these ingredients today, and start a tradition your family will look forward to for years to come.

Items Needed:
Regular sized marshmallows
A bowl of melted butter
A bowl of cinnamon and sugar (I do a ratio of 1:4)
Crescent rolls (we buy Pillsbury, if you're super adventurous, make your own!)

Preheat the oven according to your crescent roll can.  The rest of the directions are included in the story, which of course can be adjusted by age.

First, pick up a large marshmallow.  The marshmallow represents Jesus after He was taken down from the cross.  Dip the marshmallow first into the butter and then into the cinnamon.  The butter represents the oil and the cinnamon-sugar mixture represents the spices used to prepare Jesus' body for burial.  Place the marshmallow on the crecsent roll.  The crescent roll represents the burial cloths that Jesus was wrapped in.  Be sure to enclose the marshmallow as well as you can, or it will ooze out during the baking process.  Once everyone has done their own Jesus, place the pan in the oven.  The oven represents the tomb Jesus was laid in.  Bake according to label directions.  Open the oven, remove the pan, and cut open a roll.  The tomb and burial cloths are now empty, and Jesus has
Resurrected!! Alleluia and Happy Easter!!! 

ANOTHER New Addition?

This morning I am finally starting to feel better!  The kids wanted blueberry muffins for breakfast, and it was so beautiful outside we decided to eat out here.  The kids are now playing in the 70% finished chicken coop, and Gabi--as always--is carrying Gizmo around like a baby.  It's so gorgeous this morning!  We've got jackets on, but we probably won't need them much longer.

Earlier in the week Addy and Rafe spiked fevers.  They slept a lot, but seemed to have fought it off.  Gabi followed suit.  Wednesday I ended up with a 103.5 fever and was pretty delirious and lethargic.  I'm still unable to eat because my throat is so sore I can't swallow, but my fever has been down since Thursday evening.  I'm drinking as much as I can, but even that is painful.  My dad is headed over with popsicles.. :-)

Addy was completely potty trained a few days after our inital success.  She was sooo easy to potty train.  Makes me wish I had done it sooner!  The first few weeks every time she'd go potty everyone would run into the hall with us and sit around when she needed to go.  With three small kids at home, they pretty much move as a pack.  We've got a "potty station" set up right next to the bathroom door.  Rafe and Addy's potty seats are side by side.  Because our house is older it has a built in telephone stand (we don't even have a "home phone"), and I've got clorox wipes and Addy's dry diaper from the previous night up there.  Then Addy dumps her potty in the big toilet and washes her hands while I clean the little potty.  It's been soooo wonderful just having one in diapers...

But if I want to keep it that way I'll have to potty train Rafe before November.  Yep!  Baby S. #5 is due around Nov 29th.  We've known for almost 2 weeks now, and the shock is slowly starting to wear off.  We sold the Envoy two days ago and have test driven a Yukon Denali that I'm basically in love with.  Rafe is on day 3 of being 100% weaned.  I've been sleeping on the couch while Mitch had the "joy" of teaching Rafe to fall back asleep without nursing!  Oh what bad habits I instilled.  I resovle to not do that with this next one!! 

We're excited despite it putting a kink in some of our goals for 2011..not to add any more members to the family!  And we will no longer be able to complete another goal of a family vacation to San Antonio in early Novemeber for STAFDA.  And we probably won't be able to pay the house off 25k more this year because we have to buy a bigger car and because Mitch will need to take 2 months off FMLA to help with the kids while I'm on bed rest (aka no pay).  But I know we're so blessed that it won't cause any big strains and that we can welcome another baby with open arms.  This is the longest time I've had between pregnancies--Rafe will be 2 in July!!  Hopefully my cervix has healed and is ready for another cerclage.  Thankfully this time the kids can get themselves into their car seats and high chairs and beds and clothes and even Rafe can drink from a regular glass--a far cry from where we were when I found out I was pg with Rafe.  We'd just brought Addy home from NICU and she needed 100% care... probably more than 100%!!  I see Jensen the 19th, I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

Not asleep on the job..

Things have been a flurry of activity here!  I dropped and broke my camera last week, so I'm hoping to borrow my sister's camera and get caught up with writing and photos.  I've got so much to detail: Addy's been completely potty trained for awhile now, Rafe is in the process of being weaned (hopefully we'll be done soon!), Barkley got a dog run, Mitch built me a compost pile, Gizmo came home to live with us, the chicks could now be called teenage chickens (but their coop still isn't ready), and my seed starters are showing signs of life!  Spring is surely on its way, despite that freak snow shower on Sunday. 

SDS Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

A healthier alternative to the "Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies" on the lid of the Quakers box of oatmeal.  Great for those who can't have dairy (Rafe!).  Gabi went so far as to say these are "more much better" than when we make the cookies according to the recipe.

1/2 cup applesauce (we use non sweetened--just apples, water, and vit C)
3/4 cup white sugar (you can skimp here, last time we didn't have quite that much and it was fine)
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups oatmeal

Stir together applesauce and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla; stir.  Combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon; stir with wet ingredients.  Stir in oatmeal.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and enjoy!  Makes 24 cookies.  I don't use the mixer at all for this recipe--just a spoon.

My timer just went off... gotta run! Enjoy!!

Potty Training Success! && SDS St. Patrick's Day && New Family Addition!

Potty Training Success!

Addy's been staying dry all night for about two weeks now.  For almost a week she's been peeing in the potty first thing every morning.  Yesterday I decided we were ready to take the next step.  I put underwear on her instead of a diaper.  The whole day she only had one accident--during speech--probably because we were a bit distracted!  She even pooped in the potty no problem at all.  Rafe surprised me and twice while Addy was going to the bathroom he ripped his diaper off and peed in his potty seat!  Guess he's catching on from watching Addy. 

Today Addy wore underwear the entire day and had no accidents!  She did a great job!  I didn't even put a diaper on her at nap time.  This afternoon we were going outside to play, so I tried to put a diaper on her, but she said, "No, I don't like Elmo."  Then she said she needed to go potty and peed before going outside.  What a big girl!!  Rafe also peed in his potty seat once today.  He's doing it completely on his own; I'm not going to push him.

Super Duper Special St. Patrick's Day

Today at dinner I was telling the kids how when Alli and I were little girls, on St. Patrick's Day, Grandma (my mom) would pour milk in our breakfast glasses, and the milk would turn green!  I told them what mom had told us--leprechauns had turned our milk green for St. Paddy's Day!  Gabi asked if their milk would be green tomorrow, and I told her that we'd just have to see! 

About thirty minutes later, Gabi came over, very concerned that her milk would be green.  Lol I couldn't believe that she would be apprehensive about that!  She wondered how it was going to taste, and said she wanted her milk to be pink or red or orange--not green.  I told her green was for St. Patrick's Day and that I could call the leprechauns and ask them to only turn my milk green this year. 

Later I told her I had talked to them.  She was relieved her milk wasn't going to be green tomorrow and decided she might take a tiny sip of my milk, and maybe next year she would have them turn her milk green.

Perhaps it would have been easier to put the food coloring at the bottom of their cup without telling them about it the day before...

New Addition to the Family

No, not another baby!  Well, not another human baby anyway.  We're getting a male pekingese--Gizmo-- sometime in the near future, probably next Friday.  Mitch and I have been tossing around the idea since these pups were one week old.  After finding life with three dogs much easier than I anticipated (besides the skunk ordeal..), we're ready to take the plunge. 

We went to see them yesterday (they're a little over 5wks old), and I knew I'd fall in in love.  The dad looked just like my old pekingese, Bear, in the face, and the pup we chose has Bear's coloring.  The whole litter of seven was adorable--a bunch of little fluff balls.  The girls and I are so excited.  Rafe seems to be a "big dog" kind of guy.. he's not too sure about having to be "soft."  Mitch is swapping out manual labor for the pup which is also nice!!

I don't have reservations about how Barkley will do.  She did very well with the beagles.  They were biting her, and she did nothing but sniff them.  So long as she can get a smell for an animal, she's okay with it.  Again, except for the skunk!  I know she'll do well with a "little brother," but they won't be able to meet for about a month due to the quarantine.

It's true: Mitch and I are happiest when we've bitten off slightly more than we can chew... isn't life boring otherwise?

We've been enjoying this nice weather!!

Garden 2011

It's that time of year!  I placed our seed order from Fedco this morning.  I buy through this company because they sell tons of heirloom seed varieties.  They also sell some hybrids, but they are clearly noted to be hybrids.  And all of the seeds--heirloom or hybrid--are non-GMOs (genetically modified).  Additionally, they send refunds out with your seed order if they're unable to fill a request, or you can request them to substitute with another variety.  My only problem with them is they're left-wing nuts.  Not kidding.  Examples from their catalogue:

Now we hear dire

forecasts from the Tea Party that President Obama’s

modest proposal to restore the rate to a whopping

38.5% from its present 35% will cripple the economy

even though it affects only our wealthiest 2%.

He ought to raise it to 60%!

Really folks, raise the top income bracket rate to 60%??

Anyway, If could find a better company with such competitive pricing, I'd jump ship.  As it is, they are the best.  Apparently even I can put up with the libs for awhile to satisfy my own needs, lol.  They have multiple divisions: Fedco Seeds, Fedco Trees (fruiting/nut trees and berries), Moose Tubers (potatoes, onion sets), Fedco Bulbs (bulbs including garlic), and Organic Growers Supplies (cover crops and supplies).  Fifty dollars later, I've got a good idea of how this year's garden will be shaping up. 

I ordered bush beans, pole beans, kidney beans, two varieties of corn, two varieties of shell peas, muskmelon (aka cantaloupe), two varieties of watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, acorn squash, two varieties of pumpkin, gourd mix, two varieties of carrots, two varieties of spinach, five types of lettuce including romaine, loose leaf, iceberg, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, pimiento peppers, anaheim peppers, four varieties of tomatoes, and two varieties of sunflower!!  I have navy beans I also intend to plant, as well as a third variety of watermelon.  I'm getting really, really excited.

We have a couple friends who own a huge lot adjoining the one their house sits on.  If we can get it all worked out, I'm planning on having a mini pumpkin patch complete with gourds, pie pumpkins, and jack-o-lantern pumpkins there.  Ever since my [childhood] pumpkin patch closed down, I've been completely unsatisfied with the others we've tried.  Figured I may as well bring it "in house."  I'll probably be planting most of my bigger vining crops and probably the corn crop on their land. 

Note: Alli and I are both growing a lot of vegetables and some fruit this year.  We'll be selling our surplus--mainly because we aren't yet skilled on "putting it up" for the winter.  First come, first serve basis, as crops mature.  Interested in something specific?  Leave a message, and I'll try to plant some extra.

As far as fruit goes, only the melons will be considered as surplus.  My family will for sure eat or freeze all the blueberries from my bushes, and we do know how to make jelly from the extra berries!  We're putting in an order for strawberries and raspberries and possibly some fruit trees tomorrow.  That's the last day to order for the year from Fedco Trees, so if you want to add your order to ours, let me know ASAP!  Shipping from Fedco Trees is $19, so the more people we divide it by, the less you'll have to pay.  Like I said, tomorrow is the last day to order from the Trees division, so hurry.  If you're wanting seeds, shipping is free over $30, and you can purchase seeds all the way through September 30. 

If you remember our butterflies from last year and want to try it yourself, buy Dill (Mammoth is the variety we use) seed soon.  It easily "goes to seed" (replants itself for next year) and will be a super duper special tradition for years to come.  Swallowtail butterflies, as caterpillars, love dill.  If you plant it, they will come and lay eggs.  I promise.  I'm going to have an entire post on it later including all the important details.  I'll even be selling "Butterfly Boxes" if you don't have a green thumb or don't have room for a garden.  It's simply a wonderful, easy project to do with kids!

Barkley Update: She's doing alright.  She threw up multiple times after the booster vaccine, but she seems like she's going to be okay.  She has had a hard time with vaccines before.

Beagle Update: Still vicious!  They fight sooo much!  I find myself yelling, "knock it off" a quite a few times through the day (per instructions from Mitch's sister).

Chicks Update: I need to take a pic!  They're really growing and feathering out.  I'm continuing to wean them to tolerate cooler temps by moving the brooder box light up.  Hopefully Mitch finishes the coop within the next few weeks as temperatures continue to warm up.