Tuesday, October 26, 2010

No Spend Month

September and October were VERY expensive for us.

Between our maternity deposit, car repairs, house repairs, and October birthdays, we blew through a ton of cash.

AND, my car was broken into this week and purse stolen. Luckily, I didn't have much cash and no other valuables were taken. Then, the next day, our dishwasher stopped working.

Add that to that the fact that our couch AND recliner have also broken in the last three months, which we haven't even begun to think about replacing, and we're feeling a bit financially overwhelmed.

Sigh.

Guess I will need to sell some of the things we're getting rid of (rather than just giving away).

To get us back on track, I'm instituting a "no spend" month for November, except for necessities and groceries.

My only exception is for Christmas shopping. BUT, this year I'm going to pull out the cash we've budgeted, and NOT go over it!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

My Baby Bump (16 weeks) And Other Fall Fun

Things are calming down around here! I feel "normal" again, and am hitting that second trimester energy surge (only a month late :).

This is Bug and I dancing to some bluegrass at the NC State Fair.

And here's my 16 week pic, although I'm actually 17 weeks today. I am much bigger this time around. My belly wasn't this big at 30 weeks with Bug! But, I LOVE looking pregnant. I think pregnant women are incredibly beautiful, and think it's really sad that so many women feel "fat" and are sensitive about belly comments. I never feel better about my body than when I'm pregnant!

Yes, that is our super-cool 1972 Chevy Malibu. It was my husband's grandfather's and it is really fun to ride in, although I don't trust the seatbelts with our carseat. It's a hot car, though, and that's said by someone who usually could care less about cars.

Time to go enjoy the cool(er) NC weather, although it will still be in the 80's this week! At least we're done with 100+ weather!


Sunday, October 17, 2010

My 30 Year Goals :)

How in the world did I turn 30? There is no escaping my grown-upped-ness now! I like to try to set some goals at every birthday.... so here are mine for my 30th year! I'm trying to make them a little more realistic this year, but it's so hard!

In no particular order...

1. Learn to use 50 Spanish words and phrases.

2. Sew or alter 10 items of clothing for my daughter, child number two, or myself (ummm... have to learn to sew first!

3. Teach at least one full Lamaze class series (put that certification to good use)!

4. Figure out how to market and add selling slings to business.

5. Get to a healthy weight and strength through good eating and a positive exercise routine (which means to lose about 20 pounds... although I think it's too negative to set "weight-loss goals").

6. Keep releasing all the clutter in our home (and storage units)! Get to the point where we only have two small units and every room and closet in our home is functional... aka not packed with junk!

7. Create and maintain flexible and effective routines and rhythms for our home.

8. Build up to the habit of meditating 15 minutes or so a day.

I'm tempted to go on, but I think that's plenty for now!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Back to Planet Earth

I think I'm re-entering Earth's atmosphere!

The last few months have been a blur of nausea and fatigue... and trying to be there for my daughter when I really just want to zone out!

But, I think I'm at the end, finally, now that I'm 14 weeks pregnant. Not quite normal, but feeling better :).

One big event of the last few months is one I never thought would happen so soon: weaning. I want to write more about this later.

About my peace with it and also some of my regrets.

But, it's done. It was the best decision for all of us, including my almost three year old.

I'm really ready to move to the next phase of this pregnancy. I want to enjoy and connect to it, which is always really difficult for me during the "stomach-flu" period.

I've also been giving away an average of 3 garbage bags FULL of junk/treasure every day, which has been really freeing. We had planned on selling most of it, but I've just given up on it.

You know, I've always said that it really does come back to you, anyway. For example, after giving away 5 bags of stuff that I probably could've gotten $50 for, max, someone offered me all their winter maternity clothes... which is worth waaaay more than that!

Plus, I didn't have to spend precious hours and energy doing a garage sale, craigslisting, or ebaying. There is such peace of mind in just releasing things.

Finally, my camera is STILL out for repairs. Grrrr.... It came back to us once unfixed, and Best Buy better hope that it's returned to me repaired this time! Mama bear is extremely frustrated to not be able to take pictures of all the happenings of our household!