September Update

We've made it through the third quarter! And what a crazy year it has been so far. Here is the overall financial update:
 

Start 1/1/2013: $62,300.13

Current 9/30/2013: $44,636.42

Total paid: $17,663.71

 
Amazing. Simply amazing. We won't quite hit our goal set at the beginning of the year, but we are doing really well. Despite all the setbacks with the medical bills and general hiccups. The medical bills were covered 100% by our generous friends & family. It is completely humbling and heart warming. There's just no way to express how much that means to DH and I. Not only was it a financial burden, but it was a emotional & mental one as well. To have that lifted off of us has been such an incredible relief.
 
As for our active "racing" debt, we just crossed the 50% mark on that this month. Most of the setback in this area had been the medical bills, meals out, last-minute trips to the store to buy things for Aubree, and general just not keeping track of the budget well so the CC was pulled out. I am so glad our financial life was pretty well set to auto-pilot before this all happened so that the damage was containable. And over the past month we have really been cleaning up our general spending and getting our good habits back as our life goes back to "normal." Here are the racing numbers:
 

Start 1/1/2013: $24,500.00

Current 9/30/2013: $11,523.26

Total paid: $12,016.35

 
We are at 50% of our goal to have this completely paid off in 2013. I knew that was a far-reaching goal, but I am very pleased with the progress that we were able to make so far. I want to get under $10,000 by the end of the year and I think that we should be able to pay this off before June 2014 when the 0% rates expire. We are down to only 2 bills left out of 6 when we started.
 
We got our clearance to try again for another baby. I've run the numbers on my leave time from work and we will just barely have enough if we happen to get it this month. So weird to be right back in this place again. A new baby won't fix things, it won't replace Aubree, but we know our family is not complete yet. It's a really scary leap of faith to try again, knowing now just how badly it can end up.

Last week at home

I can not believe this is my last week of medical leave. Physically I am feeling nearly 100%, except for the allergies/cold that settled in over the last few days. I have really enjoyed this time at home with Aly, and having the time to rest, organize, and start new. I can not believe it's been five weeks since I had Aubree. Crazy!

Today I took Aly to MIL's house so I could clean and do some things on my own. Because grocery shopping and trying to clean the house with a 2-yr old takes 10 times longer than just doing it myself! I went through our freezers to get an idea of what we have. It turns out that we have enough meat to last probably 3 months, veggies for a month, and who knows how many bags of cheese. We also have freezer meals from friends & family still. They really stocked us up! I've also been stretching their pre-made meals with some items that I make the day-of (like a pre-made entree with veggies that I make up, or pre-made sides with fresh grilled fish). Freezer food does not taste like "freezer food" as much this way. I should be able to get us through the end of October with only a few quick trips for milk and fresh produce. DD could eat her weight in bananas!!

My goal this week is to plan for the next several weeks once I go back to work. I want to get all the laundry done and DD's fall clothes set out. Go through my wardrobe and make sure I have enough nice pieces for work that fit well. Plan out meals for weekdays. Declutter and put away things we are not using frequently, so that the house stays cleaner and the things we do use are accessible.

I think the home we had lined up for our dog fell through, so she's still with us for now. Aly has started to take an interest in her (instead of screaming in terror every time she sees the dog), so we are working on getting them both used to each other. The dog has also started to calm down a bit around Aly. Maybe this will be a good thing and we can keep Lucy. Otherwise we will keep trying to find her a good home with older kids or no kids. You never really know until you have little ones how the animals are going to react to them, and vice versa. So far, though, we've managed to keep them separated without any issue. Now that winter is approaching and it will be getting colder, and Aly now has free reign of the house, we will have to figure out something.

September Goal Progress

Well, the first payday of the month has rolled around. And we are doing really well! We officially got under $50,000 on our total debt, and we possibly could be under $49,000 depending on how the rest of the month goes. The credit cards are at $16,250 and could be under $16,000 by the end of this month. In fact, this one of those months where we see a couple of nice left-digit shifts. And our car loan could be under $10,000 by the end of the year, which would leave us with no individual debts (other than the house) higher than $9,999. For some reason that seems like a HUGE milestone!

I was doing awesome with the weight loss after delivery, but I've gained back quite a bit in the last two weeks and am back up to 132 - 10lbs away from my goal weight. DH and I have been drinking a lot after DD goes to bed (not getting wasted every night, but a big glass of wine every night adds up!). We've also been using gift cards we were given for different restaurants around town. I only have a week & a half left before I go back to work, so I need to cut it out so I can fit back into my normal work clothes!! DH read about green smoothies and decided to do those as breakfast and lunch for the next two weeks. I figured I would join in. It's not a bad idea to get in a ton of veggies and water every day. I am adding in yogurt & flax meal for added protein. So far, two days in, it's been pretty easy. The protein and fiber is keeping me really full. The scale hasn't budged, but I think it will take a few days for that to happen as I get the crap out of my system.

It's been four weeks since Aubree's birth. I feel almost back to normal...or maybe I've found my new normal. Tonight was the first time I got sad seeing a new baby. We were out at a restaurant and the table next to us had a tiny little baby - less than 6lbs for sure. As tiny as Aly was when she was born. I wanted so badly to ask if I could just hold the baby, but thankfully managed to keep that in-check and left them all alone ;) I am sure they would have thought I was nuts!

Aly has been doing so well since I've been staying at home with her. Our family life is running so much more smoothly. I have time to cook & clean and play with Aly. By the time DH gets home I am ready to talk to someone else instead of being so worn out from talking that I just want to be by myself. We looked at the numbers, and we could technically make it work for me to stay home right now. But we would be giving up on several goals that we have. It is nice to be on the same page with our priorities, and to know that while we could technically make it work now, the end result will be that much better if we can just wait a bit longer. 

2013 Goals Update

When I wrote these goals for the year back in December, I had no ideal what we were in for. Our two big goals were:

1. Have another kid

2. Pay off remaining credit card debt. $24,500

We technically met #1. Maybe I should have clarified that a bit more, since I really wanted to keep her and not just have her. I've listened, Universe, and will be MUCH more specific next time I put something out there.

As for the second goal, we are actually doing pretty well. Not quite on-track, but considering the circumstances I am happy with our progress. Here are the numbers:

Credit Cards:

1/1/2013 Start: $24,500

8/31/2013 Current: $16,522.93

Total paid = $7,977.07

Total Debt:

1/1/2013 Start: $62,300.13

8/31/2013 Current: $50,262.05

Total paid = $12,038.08

We are 2/3rds of the way through the year, and so far we have paid off more than we did last year. I think that is pretty successful! We've also averaged $1,500/month payoffs on our total debt. Not quite the $2050 that we had aimed for in the beginning, but that's ok. Still 50% more than our monthly payoffs last year, and that's with a $450/month pay cut for me. So I guess if you look at what we've paid each month + the paycut, that comes out close to our original goal. So I like to think that we are still on-track :)

And After!

One day of HARD work later, this is what our room looks like:

I am really happy with the way it turned out! I spent about $200 total on it:

$30 paint (2 gallons wall paint + 1 can spray paint)
$100 bedding (new sheets, bedskirt (not on yet), throw pillows)
$27 lamps from Dollar General - spray painted orange
$40 curtains - energy saving panels to help with our drafty windows!

Our room now feels like a retreat instead of a cluttered chaotic mess. I hope having some place safe and calm to relax in is helpful for DH and I.

Bedroom Makeover

Here's what I am working with:

Looking in from the hall to DH's dresser

Standing in the closet looking at the bed 

 Looking at my dresser & the linen closet

There are really only a couple of places where our bed can go. Pretty much in front of one of the windows. The plan is to move the bed to the other window and move the dressers to the short wall by the linen closet. Those are the only two walls with outlets, so I hope this move eliminates some of the extension cords run around the room as well. 

One week down....

Saying goodbye

Well, we've survived this first week. It's so weird, in some ways it feels like we never even had a baby. We knew we wouldn't be bringing her home, so there was no baby paraphernalia around the house. No car seat installed in the car. Her things have all been placed into a storage tub and set in my closet. The rest of life has moved on...and I feel kind of stuck. It's a weird feeling. I had months to prepare for this and kind of feel relieved that it is finally over. I want to move on - just trying to figure out how to make that happen.

I weighed in this morning at 127.6. That means I am down 21lbs since I delivered last week and only 6lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Apparently it is pretty easy to lose weight when you really just don't want to eat. Trying to make myself eat three meals a day with healthy food options (produce and lean proteins, few sugars and limiting salts). Drinking a lot of water and iced tea to stay hydrated.

What a difference a week makes

I need some kind of project to keep me busy. I am working on organizing our house and getting things in order. Guess it's a weird form of nesting. Since I don't get a nursery to paint and decorate, I told DH that I wanted to re-do our bedroom. It's the one room we have done NOTHING with. I would describe it as dorm-room chic. It's really just a random hodge podge of furniture. So I am trying to pull it all together. Some paint, some curtains, and some new sheets. Moving things around so that we have a better "flow" and maximize the space. I think it will do me a lot of good to have a nice, settled space to relax in.