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.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
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!
http://www.thegreatrecovery.com/?ictid=lm1.tgr.announce
One week 'til closing on the rental!
Monday, July 18, 2011
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 ;)
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 ;)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, July 15, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, July 8, 2011
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!
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!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, July 4, 2011
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
Saturday, July 2, 2011
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.
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.
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