TTT

[lilqt3929]

Let's hear them!

[lilqt3929]

1. I'm feeling a bit under the weather so after taking DD for a walk, pushing her on her tricycle, and picking apples in our backyard I'm sitting down relaxing with a sandwich while she snacks on goldfish and watches Super Why.

2. DD is doing so well potty training, I know I've mentioned that before but she was having issues with poo on the potty and it seems to have just clicked with her recently. Although she yells "poo poo potty" and has to sit on the potty with every bit of gas that she has which makes it very time consuming!

3. We had her birthday party over the weekend and she had so much fun! Everyone kept commenting how much she has changed in a year so I had to go back through pictures from her 1st birthday and it is amazing how different she is now. Like, she's her own person now.

4. I'm loving this stage so much, despite the horrible tantrums, it is so fun to watch her learn, grow, and develop her own interests. I have a feeling I may say this about every stage though, haha.

5. DH and I have still not talked about names for baby boy. He may be unnamed until he is born at this rate.

6. DH has to have a minor surgery next monday and will be out of work for 6 days. He is going to drive me nuts I'm sure since he is not good with being home all day for more then a day at a time. Hopefully he will feel up to doing a few things here and there to keep him busy.

7. We decided to purchase the house that is in the airport flight path. Its a great house for us and hopefully we'll adapt to the extra air traffic. We did meet one of the neighbors and they seem super nice, which is a plus!

8. We're expecting to close on both houses around the end of October, which is wonderful because we'll have about 3 months to get settled and have DD adjust to a new house before baby boy arrives.

9. MIL doesn't seem excited at all about us moving since we picked a house that is not in the same school district that she works for. She works at an elementary school and we did put an offer in on a house in the neighborhood directly behind that school but we weren't chosen by the sellers. She found the need to tell everyone at DD's birthday party about that house even though we wont be buying that one. I wish she'd just move on and be happy for us finding a different house no matter what school district it's in (not to mention she is scheduled to retire when DD is 6, so she may have been at the same school for 1 year tops)!

10. It's supposed to rain here almost everyday of the next week. I shouldn't complain because we've had the absolute nicest stretch of weather you can ask for but I am sad about being couped up in the house.

[lilqt3929]

jnetx I'm sorry you're frustrated, money really sucks sometimes. It sounds like you have a good grasp of where to cut back and the right priorities for once you do get some extra cash. The only suggestions I have would be meal plan (include cheaper meals like spaghetti at least once a week if possible), thrift stores/garage sales especially with upcoming holidays, and create a budget plan in excel or something similar. DH does the excel budget for us (he's literally a budget freak but luckily also down to earth about when extra money is spent) but his is pretty in depth and also has several bank accounts set up for emergency savings, house, taxes & insurance, car savings, and spending (groceries and anything else). He has money that is allocated to these accounts everytime he is paid (2x a month) so he can account for every single bill and transfers money accordingly. There's obviously a lot more that goes into his budget planning but thats the jist of it. I would probably start with keeping track of everything you spend for a month and see if there's a place where you're spending a lot extra that you may be able to cut back some (for us it's groceries since I dont meal plan I always end up with so much extra crap we don't need). Is there any way you could make a little extra cash even if its just for a little spending money (I'm a big believer in having at least a little bit of "play" money because life's no fun without it-even if it's just $10-20 a week), babysitting or a flexible part time job til you get in a good place? As far as what percentages to put where, I truly believe that's a personal preferance on what's most important to you even though I've heard some suggestions from financial gurus (though I can't recall what they usually recommend).

[lilqt3929]

Ugh, I'm so sorry. Kudos to you for having to deal with your husbands unpredictable job I didn't know you had to deal with that, it makes things so much harder and with no family around . I hope things start working out better for you soon!

[junewife]

jnetx when my insurance premiums were up I shopped around and found better rates. I also lowered the data plan on our phones bc we never used it all. Those things combined save us about $50/month and doesn't impact our lifestyle.

You could also look into refinancing student loans.

[Deleted]

1. Massage scheduled for Saturday! Can. Not. Wait.
2. I need to find a plastic banana for Kayla's monkey costume.
3. Both of the kids seem to love my Halloween decorations so far. They call the grim reaper wall hanging "creepy man!"
4. Neither one has napped and DH is doing OT tonight. This should be fun.
5. "Love you, Mommy!" is my favorite sentence the kids say.
6. There are certain toys that my children are not allowed to take out of the house. Including the stuffed animals my sister bought for them in Africa. (She went for a few weeks for a class for her master's degree.)
7. I'm in desperate need of a Disney vacation, but DH and I has pretty much agreed to wait until the kids are 4.
8. I spent almost an hour outside the other night, watching the blood moon. It was one of the most relaxing hours I've had all month.
9. I only tuned in to celebrity Worst Cooks in America to watch Dean Cain. He got kicked off first, and now I'm torn between not caring and still wanting to see who wins.
10. I need to schedule eye appointments for DH and myself.

[fiveohfive]

@twinstars- the Melissa and Doug fruit set has a good banana in it!

1. Two kids sick with colds and a husband with a man cold--- thankfully they haven't been grumpy, just sick.

2. I am covered in snot from them both wiping their noses on me! So gross

3. Lost my name came out with their new book today! Woohoo!

4. I am officially working PT at my new job. I love having more time with the girls and slightly less time with DH. It's nice to have control over the TV and eat giant amounts of ice cream again! And I feel like I've spent more time on me lately which I haven't done in forever.

5. I am 1 pound away from my pre-babies weight and 11 from my pre-wedding weight. I'm glad I'm finally losing weight. For some reason after DD1 I didn't lose anything- even with EBF

6. I get to go to target by myself tomorrow

7. I think we need another check in post to see how everyone is doing. I miss everybody! (wowcheezits- come back!)

8. DD1 is a lion for Halloween and DD2 is an owl. Taking them Sunday for professional pics (at the cheap place lol) and bringing their costumes along.

9. I'm excited to take DD1 Apple and pumpkin picking this fall.

10. DD2 is starting solids at 5.5 months this week. She keeps trying to eat everything I eat already anyways.

lilqt3929- congrats on the new house! Home is what you make it, the flight path won't ruin it

jnetx- hugs! No real advice for your budget but it stinks when your finances take an unnecessary hit.

[wowcheezits]

Heyyy! I'm so sorry I have been away for so long. Lots been going on lately and I've been preoccupied. I am 10w4d and my NT scan is coming up next week Tuesday. I'm actually quite nervous. I'm so afraid they might not find a heartbeat (even though I saw LO on Thursday). The symptoms keep slowly going away. I hope I have good news next week Tuesday, but it feels like forever. But I'm so sorry I haven't been around ladies. So here goes my TTT what's been happening.

1) I'm due April 22, finally after a whole year of trying
2) I've been super anxious that this will be a normal pregnancy (so far it is, but my PGAL brain is off the hook)
3) DD1 is 17, has a job and recuperating after a breakup so it's bee difficult for her
4) DD2 is 2 and she's been great. She sings lots and lots of songs by heart and cannot watch Mickey's clubhouse w/o her Mickey
5) MH is an excellent dad
6) I've been working and just been plain exhausted in the evenings
7) I spend whatever free time laying down because I'm just tired
8) I am annoyed with my job (might be the hormones)
9) I'm worried about money, however we're finally getting a raise after 2 years
10) I am thinking about going for my MBA but wonder how I would do it with 3 kids.

[lilqt3929]

@fiveohfive thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying more time with your girls and wahoo for some "me" time!

wowcheezits Congratulations! Wishing a h&h 9 months to you and fx for a great scan next week! Keep us updated!

[fiveohfive]

YAY YAY YAY wowcheezits! That is great news! Congrats lady Sounds like your summer has been pretty hectic. I hope your first DD is doing ok, high school breakups really are emotionally draining. Hopefully the job/school can take her mind off it. Thanks for checking in- I've been thinking about you

[sugarkissed]

Congrats wowcheezits!! So happy for you!!

[sugarkissed]

2 days late on this, but we aren't always the most punctual here on S13, are we?

1. My friend just had her second baby today! Her first is only 14 months old and I don't envy the next few weeks of her life!

2. Pretty excited for newborn snuggles though!

3. My mom is recovering from a hysterectomy so we've been busy helping take care of her.

4. My grandma is here from the other side of the country to help out and visit!

5. One more pound to get to my short term weight loss goal!

6. But Grandma's cooking is NOT helping.

7. DD1 is sick and miserable. Poor kiddo.

8. She's extra clingy and I love the rare cuddles, but I also have a constantly nursing 3 month old.

9. I love them both so much. DD1 is talking so much and is so funny, and DD2 is super smiley and giggling and makes me melt. Kids are the best!

10. I just made myself a pumpkin spiced latte and it's awesome and way less calories than Starbucks!