Picking up where I left off

Well, it looks like I need to get back into the swing of things with CVS/Walgreens.  They have amazing deals on diapers & baby stuff, and its even better when paired with EBs.  So I am making an effort to ramp it up with the money-making deals & rebates.  I know at CVS if I stock up on diapers, but we end up needing to trade them out for different sizes, they will let me do that with all the un-opened packages. 

We got the couch out of DH's room (soon to be baby's room) last night.  YAY!  We just re-arranged and put his desk against the far wall, and left a spot where the crib will be.  Eventually we will get rid of the desk, but the couch was my first priority. 

I came up with a couple goals for us for next year:

1. $4000 - My main goal is to get 6 weeks worth of pay banked for maternity leave.  I can get up to 8 weeks paid out from my sick time (I know - I am amazingly lucky to get that).  But I want to take the full 12 weeks & not burn all my vacation, so we will need to save up. 

2. $1000 - I went through my insurance back when we had to sign up, so as long as baby & I get to come home on the same day, we get covered by the same deductible ($500).  If separate days, that's another $500.

3. $1000 - Trip to NM with the baby to see great-grandpa (DH's grandpa) - October-ish.  DH and his grandpa are super close, and his grandpa is 95 yrs old.  Its really important for DH to take the baby "home" to meet grandpa as soon as possible.  This is a pretty high estimate, but should cover everything including hotel for at least a week. 

4. $2000 - Work daycare into our budget.  Still not sure what we will do, but it looks like we should plan on at least $1000/month to cover the high-end.  As long as we can swing that, then we should be fine no matter what option we go for.  I have enough vacation time to work part-time for two months, but still get paid full-time (like take every Friday or Monday as vacation).  That should help out too.