Recent happenings

We have had a very busy week!  We've been working through Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover & getting into a more solid budget & routine.  I'll blog more about that later, but one of the biggest things we've changed is completely planning out our weekly meals, shopping for everything on Saturday and paying with cash from a budget we've set for ourselves.  I made a list of meal ideas on the dry erase board in our laundry room & pick from it each week.  As I come up with more ideas from shows I watch, I add them to the board.  It's made menu planning a lot easier!

 
If you're at all familiar with Dave's program, you create an envelope system for any of your non-bill needs & budget each paycheck down to the dime.  When the cash is out, the cash is out.  No borrowing from another envelope.. if you don't have it, you wait!  It's teaching me a lot of patience!!!  We've been thinking more & more about our future & want to be sure we have our ducks in a row so we can retire at a decent age, send our kids to college, be able to travel, etc.  Working through this book has really, really helped us get on the same page financially.  We used to get into a fight any time we had a budget talk, but this has seriously made a world of a difference.  We've set weekly budget meetings for every Wednesday night.  I'm sure you'll hear me blather on about this more in future posts, but I'll stop now!

I'm still working on The Happiness Project too, but February somehow got away from me!  Last month focused on marriage.  Since a solid marriage is strongly associated with happiness, this is a big goal for the project.  Mike & I met when we were 16, started dating a month after I turned 17 & got married on my 23rd birthday.  We have always had a very solid relationship, even as high schoolers.  We've never done the drama bit, breaking up & making up.  But like any relationship, if you become complacent, things can suffer.  The book states that marital satisfaction drops substantially after the first child arrives.  I found this to be very true... the sleepless nights & stress of having a new baby really tested our patience with one another.  I feel like the foundation of a good relationship is sticking together through the tough times.  I recently read someone from a long-term relationship say that they're secret was knowing there would be some bad years mixed into your marriage.  Can't just expect peaches & cream all the time; I know I'm certainly not always a ray of sunshine!!  Especially when it's PMS week... yikes, run for cover, Mike!!

Weeknight walk in our PJs!

My biggest goal for making a positive change is to think before I speak.  When I'm tired, stressed & frustrated with things that have nothing at all to do with Mike, I tend to be snappy, impatient & rude.  He doesn't deserve it!  I also want to be more outspoken with my appreciation of him & more considerate.  Do you ever notice that sometimes you're more considerate & charming with a stranger than your own spouse?  It's crazy when I think about it.  

Reese, where's your belly?!

Look at that big attitude in such a small package!

As I'm rambling, I'm posting pictures off my cell that I took throughout the week.  The kids are celebrating Dr. Seuss week in honor of his birthday & Monday was mixed-up Monday.  We sent the kids totally mismatched so I was shocked when they were seriously the only mismatched kids in their classes as I dropped them off!! 

About two weekends ago, our girl decided walking was a great idea & she's never looked back!

So, back to The Happiness Project..  My goal for January was to tackle some nagging tasks & I really feel like I succeeded.  I finally went to the dermatologist for a skin test & I'm so glad I did.  I had three moles removed & biopsied.  I got a call back last week; two were benign & one was dysplatic which is also benign but has an increased risk for developing into cancer.  Once the scab is gone from the biopsy site, I need to make sure there is no trace of the mole; if there is, I have it further removed.  The latest I go back is 6 months from now.  I've also been hammering away at my continuing education hours.  When I started 2013, I had zero & now I have 13.5 out of the 30 I need by mid-May.  It feels so good to get things that have been bugging me off the to-do list.

My big helper!

We've been having some issues with Cam & his teacher lately.  Daycare pick-up has not been pleasant since I'm getting a negative report nearly every day.  I'll never have the mentality of "not my child!" but I do feel like his teacher is part of the problem.  She is so abrasive & impatient.  I see her yelling at other kids when they're doing nothing but being kids.  Monday, he was so happy when I picked him up & she was quick to swoop over & ask me why I didn't return his soccer coach's phone call.  (Every Monday he is part of a soccer team that comes to the school.)  I told her there was no phone call to return & she told me they were not happy with his behavior.  Mike called the coach who said there was no true problem & that's why he hadn't even bothered to call us.  He said Cam's attention span was a little short, but otherwise he was great.  That tells us that Cam's teacher is just looking for trouble.  If this keeps up, we'll have to call in a meeting with her & the director.

And lastly, our little Drama Queen has gotten into throwing little tantrums on the floor.  They are hilarious to watch, let me tell you.  It starts with a very ungraceful belly flop where she then rolls & flops around like a fish out of water!  Such a nut!!  Anyway, that's what's going on in our neck of the woods.. hope you're all having a great week too!