So...I lied

The very last post I talked about not taking vacations this year to pay off our debt. We started thinking about all of the things that would change with Baby Emily's arrival and one that really stuck out was how we will never have this time alone with Chloe again. This is her last summer as an only child. My husband wished his whole life he was an only child and I myself am the fifth of six kids. We figured she has something right now that we always wanted as kids. So, we booked a trip to St. Augustine for later this month.
We will visit the oldest city and play tourists for the weekend. We will visit the Castillo de San Marcos, check out the Alligator Farm, walk the beaches and eat our hearts out. Just the beginning of our small weekend vacations and to really celebrate Chloe's single child summer! Not just for her but for us as well. I can't wait to fill up her postcard book!
I've also began creating a summer bucket list so we have fun activities, trips, recipes, and projects to last us throughout the summer even on rainy days and days when Billy is at work. I look forward to writing about our mini-adventures before our family expands!
Oh and we already have one card paid off and my R+F side gig hit an all time high last month so that is bankrolling our St. Augustine Trip!

New Year's Resolutions in May

The one thing this family understands is starting over. Fresh starts. Big changes and sometimes small ones. We started the new year with the hope of getting our finances in order and becoming more organized around the house and in our work lives. Most of our goals for the new year were to plan for the new baby that we had hoped to create. We talked it over, as mature couples do, then decided that we would love a new baby. If we were to conceive in January we could expect a bundle of joy for October, however, conceiving in February or the months to follow we felt would be too close to the holidays. Nobody wants a birthday November through February! So, our plan was try for January then hold off until June if we were unsuccessful. We brought back a little souvenir from our Tennessee vacation and couldn't be more excited to announce that Baby Emily will be arriving this October just in time for Halloween! Chloe is thrilled and talks about being a big sister to anyone who asks. Billy and I are ecstatic about having another girl! So excited in fact that for the first half of this year we have swept our goals under the rug while we basked in our delight.
When Billy and I left our previous marriages we were left with some debt. I cut my debt down drastically while I was on my own but there is one that is still lingering that I need to pay off. Billy, however, didn't have the good ex graces that I had and his irresponsible ex-wife left him with just about everything the two of them had incurred. We have managed to pay off a large majority of it but our plan was to finish off the rest at the beginning of this year. Together we had a lot of fun at Christmas and on our vacation and we also left ourselves with some maxed out credit cards. It was completely worth it! So, now that the baby bliss has calmed and summer is approaching. We sat down and regrouped. We went over our goals and our dream boards, we reset the budget, we opened a new savings account and we are ready to do this! Billy's new job has been wonderful and I have several part-time gigs that are coming my way. Our plan is to rebuild our next egg while simultaneously paying off one debt a month.
For May, I've been sick, we had our annual Ducks Unlimited charity event that we as a family host, the full-time job has been hectic, and Emily has had three different appointments. Somehow, with all of that we still managed to pay off one credit card, I stocked the house with healthy food, and I am very close to a promotion with Rodan + Fields.  If we can get that accomplished during a bad month I can only imagine what June will be like!
Here are a few of the things that we have found to work for us even during our months of spending.
Groceries: My menu consists of foods that are relatively inexpensive but will also double or triple our meals. For example: I bought a $10 boneless sliced ham that will feed us three times. Once for dinner as Ham and Vegetables, once for lunch as sandwiches and again for dinner as White Bean and Ham Soup. I just try to make sure we aren't eating them all back to back so we don't get bored with our menu. With couponing and planning our meals we have saved hundreds so far this year, then as with everything else we slacked a bit, not to mention fulfilling all of the pregnancy cravings. Now I have created a menu that is full of pregnancy power foods and cut our grocery budget in half for the month (that means more money for late night Twisty Treat cravings).
We tried the envelope system and it just didn't work for us, or we didn't work for it. I'd pull out $50 for Essentials and place it in an envelope and then Billy would stop for toilet paper on his way home and use the card. We just couldn't make it work for most things. However, it does work for things like clothing, vacations, baby gear, and birthdays. We have several envelopes for those.
As for vacations, we usually like to take three small trips and one large trip each year. This year we took the trip to Tennessee but other than that and one small trip we have planned we are mostly going to stay home bound to save money for the baby. I would like to take Chloe to Disney as a babymoon to focus on only her and spoil her rotten before she has to share everything the rest of her life. I'm starting that envelope in June so she can go to breakfast with Minnie Mouse and experience Mickey's Spooktacular Celebration. We did purchase year passes to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island so we can always take day trips for adventures. Camping this year will definitely be out of the question with the Zika virus spreading so quickly among the mosquito population. I already have several vacations planned for after Baby Emily is here though starting with a quiet retreat to the Blue Ridge for some relaxation!
I set up a registry for Baby Emily at two stores, Target and Babies R Us, not for other people to buy us stuff (because I think that's incredibly tacky after the first child), but for the discount both stores offer when you buy things off your registry. Target will send a discount code for 20% off registry items and Babies R Us will send discount emails for the items you've placed. Placing the items on the registry and knowing how much we plan to spend allows me to create the Baby budget and add money in each month. Then go on one shopping spree towards the end and save money that way. Target offers the gift cards with diaper purchases twice a month and we are taking advantage of that. We can stock up on diapers and in the meantime save the gift cards to use during the shopping spree. When you couple a manufacturer's coupon, a target coupon, a cartwheel promotion, use the Red Card and the free gift card you can usually get almost $12.00 off $50.00 worth of diapers then receive a $10 gift card on top of that.
So this is the actual plan for June to continue paying off debt and saving our emergency fund.
1. Meal Planning - a must for not only saving money but making weekday nights run smoothly leaving more family time and more work time once Chloe is asleep.
2. Couponing Overdrive - actively research the coupons for items we use regularly as well as coupons for diapers to stock up
3. Boss Lady - Triple my efforts with Rodan + Fields, get that promotion and keep the ball rolling!
4. Extra Income - Finalize the part-time job to bring in extra money to go strictly towards savings and debt payments.
5. OT - Make sure any overtime accrued is going straight into savings because I didn't include it into the budget.
6. Baby Planning - I really need to meet with the hospital to go over the financial costs I will incur versus what is covered by insurance so we can begin that budget.
It's tough for me to find the time to blog but  I really do enjoy it and I am hoping that I can keep up with it again. I like writing everything down and it makes me feel like I'm being held accountable to my goals. Billy made me an awesome desk and covered the wall with blackboards, a calendar, and cork boards so I think I'm going to utilize the space to document one major goal at a time. I feel it's important to reward yourself for accomplishing even the smallest of goals. I have several gift cards for restaurants so one idea I have is to write down payment of the next credit card by June 30th and pin a restaurant gift card up there. If we accomplish our goal we get treated to a date night. Just an idea but something to reward us for our dedication.

Negate the Negatives

My personal life is amazing and full of happy positive people, however, I spend a large majority of my day dealing with a very negative crowd. I also spend a lot of time on Social media platforms for my side work and noticed that there are also an extreme amount of opinionated people who seem to only have a goal of destroying others. Several years ago my husband and I lost our son and were fighting extremely hard to keep a positive outlook. Even when we found out we were expecting again we both found it difficult to immerse ourselves in the joy of our new beginning. Not getting into details but the people my husband were the closest to and who should have been comforting him through his pain decided to not just turn their backs on him but pummel him with disastrous comments and just sickly behavior. In an attempt to save ourselves from spiraling into depressions we decided to look at the good in everything. It sounds easy and sometimes it was. Other times we had to rely on the other to force feed happiness into our marriage. That's what marriage is though. It is that unconditional trust and love that allows one person to fall to their knees knowing the other will pick them up and carry the weight for a while. During our Sunny Days Marathon we read positive quotes, talked about the joys in our lives the past, present and future. We completely rid ourselves of anyone or anything that was unhealthy or rotten. We found that as we gained strength in our happy minds we began truly enjoying life. We became so excited for our daughter and spent time together preparing for her and writing in a journal for her. We had date nights that were filled with laughter. We fixed ourselves, together.
I decided to apply this same process to my social media activities for the month of March. I thought that if it worked before maybe I could stomp out the negative again. I began posting uplifting quotes on my Facebook wall daily. Each one has received numerous likes and has been shared each day! People are really responding to something joyous or encouraging. I have openly issued compliments to my coworkers every single day and I'm not sure if they've noticed I am even doing it but each day has been a bit more pleasurable. If a friend posts something inspirational I acknowledge it. I compliment those that share a photo of themselves. I say nice things to those who seem to be having a rough day. I noticed that the nicer I am even to those that don't deserve it the more positive I feel. I have to power to inspire people! I love it! Day 10 and I am already seeing amazing results and I cannot wait to see what a full month of this will bring!

The Volunteer State

Perfect Traveler

We survived our adventure to Tennessee! We started out on Friday at Tampa International Airport. Of course we were two hours early for our flight and after successfully checking in and handing off our luggage we found our way to the terminal. Chloe was ravenous so we unfortunately had to pick up some coffees and fruit from the Starbucks, we are Dunkin' People. We kept her occupied with juice, snacks, and coloring books until our plane arrived at the gate. Then we really laid it on. We got her psyched to get on her first airplane and zoom through the clouds like the Little Einsteins. She was so happy and excited until they announced that our plane was having technical difficulties with a windshield wiper. We needed those as it was raining cats and dogs out. So we watched our luggage sit in the rain as it was loaded, then unloaded, then sat outside awaiting the new plane, then loaded onto it. Meanwhile, our rambunctious two year old now wanted to board a plane that wasn't there yet and had little to no patience. The other travelers glared at us as she ran around in circles and yelled, "I wanna fly!". Finally, we were let onto the new plane, strapped her in, got out the fruit snacks and we were ready to go. Our pilot announced that he was planning to make up some lost time and boy, he was not kidding. We hauled ass around the tarmac and he took the turn for the runway at a high rate of speed and we were up in the air before I could prepare Chloe for anything. She smiled sweetly up at me from her car seat and before we had reached 10,000 feet she was fast asleep. She stayed asleep until we began our descent. I wanted to flick off every person who had given me dirty looks but instead we high-fived and relished our perfect sleeping toddler. In a dash we were in Tennessee, located our soaked luggage, picked our rental car (a Dodge Journey that just jumped to the top of the new car list), and were en route to the hotel. We found an amazing barbecue joint called "Famous Daves" and enjoyed a delicious meal before running around town and gathering some essentials and retiring to the hotel to relax.

Carter House

On Saturday we began our venture with breakfast at a local joint named "The Frothy Monkey" and aside from the middle-aged group next to us I'm pretty sure we were the only ones sober. It's one of those restaurants where you order at the front, find a seat and they bring the food to you. These make zero sense to me because if you are going to bring my food to me anyway couldn't we just sit down and you can ask us what we want to begin with? I almost throat punched the girl at the front when she offered me gluten-free toast. Billy was completely aggravated with the hippies but once we were half way through our coffees he had eased up a bit and we were laughing at Chloe's syrup covered shirt. We bundled back up and took a walk in downtown Franklin. We scoped out some lunch options and popped into the Visitor's Center for some information about the happenings around town. Drove over to the Carter House and purchased tickets to three tours of Civil War Homes. Then back to the hotel for a much needed nap for Chloe. After the Princess awoke we drove to downtown Franklin for lunch at McCreary's Irish Pub and then onto the Carter House again for the tour. During the Battle of Franklin, Fountain Carter's house became occupied by the Federals and the terrible battle was fought all over the property.

From the left: Carter House, Outside Kitchen, Farm Office, Smoke House, Slave Quarters 

The house is riddled with bullet holes and the family had to seek refuge along with their neighbors and a few slaves down in one of the rooms in the basement. Listening to what these people were thrown into it really sank in on just how terrified they must have been. In the basement you can hear the cars driving past on the road that was 50 yards or so from the house. Imagine being down there listening to gunfire, hand-to-hand combat and later the cries of the injured and dying. You live in a town of 700 or so people and in the middle of the night you are greeted by a Federal Captain telling you he's talking over your house and by 4:00 in the afternoon there are 40,000 soldiers battling to the death on your front lawn. The outbuildings have 1,137 bullet holes in them. Their middle son, Tod,  was fighting some ways away and when he heard the battle was happening in his childhood home he made every attempt to return and fight on his own soil. He was shot some 200 yards from his doorstep and when his family heard the news they ran out of the house to retrieve him. He died surrounded by his weeping sisters in the house two days later. Such a devastating war.
After the tour we swung into the hotel to warm up and change clothes. We met our dear friends, The Mobley's for dinner at the Sportman's Grill. We ate and chatted for a bit and then we called it a night.

Carnton

On Sunday at breakfast just as the room went quiet Chloe Anne screamed out, "Happy Birthday to Me!" and we went into hysterics. We didn't stop laughing as the table next to us kept wishing her a very happy birthday. She cracks me up! After breakfast we went to the mall. If you know me you know I loathe the mall but this one was actually really nice. They had a ton of stores for Chloe, who thankfully fell asleep as we browsed. We picked up quite a few things for her and enjoyed some Irishmen's Coffee and filled up at the candy store. In the afternoon we traveled to Chapel Hill to once again hang with The Mobley's. Chloe ran around outside with the girls until the sun started to set and the temperature dropped. Tammy made delicious chili for dinner and Chloe kept us all in stitches with her antics. Once she warms up to people there's no stopping her and she loved all of the attention.

Cheesecake Factory

Monday was my meeting so Billy and Chloe went to check out the local zoo. The guy at the gate told him to not even bother buying a ticket though because all of the animals were in their houses. I guess the Princess didn't take that very well. Later in the day we went to our next tour, The Carnton Plantation. Chloe fell asleep on the ride over and remained asleep through 3/4 of the tour so we just took turns carrying her around the old house. The Carnton Plantation acted as a field hospital during the Battle of Franklin. The upstairs rooms are still stained with the blood of the soldiers. The lady of the house, Carrie, tended to many of the soldiers and was remembered as a caring woman who walked from man to man with a blood soaked gown offering assistance and comfort. After the battle she and her husband donated part of their land as a cemetery for the soldiers. This cemetery backs up to their own family plots and I just found that remarkable. "Widow of the South" is a book written about Carrie and we purchased it from the gift shop. I haven't started it yet but I am eager to. From the tales the tour guide told Carrie was an amazing woman, loved by all, full of grace and very respected. She carried a book of the dead with her and was often seen in the cemetery mourning the loss of each man, even those who had not been identified. I have a lot of respect for a woman of her caliber.
For dinner we found ourselves at The Cheesecake Factory, one of our favorite restaurants,
Chloe was so tired but perked herself up enough to devour a plate of strawberries and cream. Even though we too were exhausted and full we still managed to eat a few slices of cheesecake as well.
Tuesday we decided to call it a lazy day. We drove to Nashville and took a peak at the downtown district. Then we grabbed some snacks and went to the hotel to pack and watch some movies.

Sweet Girl

On Wednesday we awoke to snow! Snow still falling as we packed up our suitcases. Then we bundled up and dashed downstairs to let Chloe play in the small amount of snow still falling. She loved it. She crunched her boots on the road and caught the flakes in her hand and mouth. She had a blast until she slipped and her pants got wet. Then she proclaimed, "I can't like the snow. Let's go inside!" She's a Florida Girl! She played a bit more as we loaded the car up and then back to the airport we traveled. While waiting to load the plane the grounds crew threw snowballs at Chloe. I would hold her up in the window and then smash a snowball would splatter against the window and we would all laugh. I love that she always attracts people to her. Everywhere we went on this trip people stopped to tell us how well behaved she is, or how beautiful she is. She really draws people to her. The flight home went the same as the flight there and she was asleep before we ever left the ground.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and we all had so much fun together and visiting our friends. We need to take more family trips, especially now that we know how well our little Princess travels.

Eye of the Tiger

I am pumped about my meeting. I've spent most of the day writing key points and reviewing the cost analysis for the sixteenth time. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to meet with the superstars at Trane to discuss MY project! Bonus is only a few more days before my beautiful family heads to Nashville!

4 days away!

We are starting the year off fabulously!!! Taking a quick break at work to look up a few packing ideas for Chloe and I found this adorable photo. Billy and I love our adventures and in 4 short days we will be having a first, flying with a toddler! Let the games begin!

2016 A year of Change

I learned a lot during the past year. I have done quite a bit of reflecting during my two weeks off from work and being home with Chloe. I love my resolutions and I honestly believe starting a new year with goals, a strategy and strong work ethic makes for a damn good start. During my reflecting I realized there are several things I'd like to change about myself. I have this bad habit of believing others will treat you the way you treat them. I was disappointed so many times this past year because I continuously expected a different outcome and it just never came. This year I am making a huge attempt to stop setting myself up for these failures. There are people who will lie to your face for no reason and I can't stop them. There are people who will not support you and I can't force them. There are people who after years of not speaking still try to ruin your happiness and I can't hide from them. They will put you down, they will cast you aside, they will stalk you, and they will never see what they are doing as wrong. That's just it though, all of these things are their issues not mine. So, in 2016 I am not going to let anyone else dictate my life. I will work hard because that's who I am. If you want to hang out, great! If not, that's okay too. If you want to spend the rest of your life blaming me for your decisions, good luck. I have a great life! We may not have it all together at times but we are happy and we see a future beyond tomorrow. I have an amazing husband and an adorable toddler. I have great friends and mostly amazing coworkers. My family is supportive, loving and a blast to be around. I'm not going to lose sight of that just because someone else has problems. That is my "Spiritual" resolution for 2016: Focus on those that make me smile and laugh at those that don't.
Pinterest had been my encyclopedia this week. I am bound and determined to get us organized this year. I have pins about canning vegetables, making my own cleaning supplies, organizing my business, couponing, selling, gardens, chickens, and so much more. I was out of control! We created a budget this year, which, is new to us and we are ready to kick this sucker into high gear. I downloaded ibotta and I already have over $15.00 in rebates ready to collect. I have calendars for personal events and a calendar for bills and savings. I am honestly so excited about this upcoming year. I have a feeling that we are going to make it our bitch!
I will give a quick run through of our family goals for the year. Billy already has the four chickens and two roosters. The chickens (Red, Spike, Coocooloca, and no name) should begin laying eggs in the next month or so. He built them a chicken castle with a nesting box and run (Chloe and I build the ramp). As soon as they are laying we will start having farm fresh eggs and raising a few chicks as meat chickens. He is also plotting a garden and beginning to plant the seedlings. Once his garden is established he is going to get a few rabbits for meat. There's also talk between him, my dad and my brother about getting a few pigs but nothing has been finalized. So, Billy's main goal is to have a self-sustaining farm that will yield enough food to cut our grocery bills down to nothing.

Chloe is beginning potty training this month. She already knows when she needs to go and she hates being in a dirty diaper so as soon as the school says they are ready we are off. She is so smart and cracks us up daily. I really enjoyed spending the entire week with her and most of it was just the two of us. She can be so helpful around the house and each errand we ran was like a mini-adventure. I realized how much I still baby her as I watched her march into her room and say, "I'll clean my toys". She came out a few minutes later and said, "clean my bathroom now". I never asked her to do any of that I was just cleaning the living room and she thought she should clean her stuff as well. How many two-year-old's do that?! Of course, I didn't let her clean her bathroom that is a Mommy job.

For the upcoming year I am going to blog my heart out. I'm tired of wondering who is reading or what I should or shouldn't say. Back to the beginning if they are concerned about what I write then that is their problem not mine. I like writing and it clears my head. I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me. Plus with all of my budgeting, couponing, crafts, and ideas I need an outlet. Somewhere I can talk about it and work through some of the problems that are bound to arise. I am going to hunker down and really focus on Rodan and Fields. It's an amazing company and I believe in the products. I am going to make it successful and follow through with my goal of having a second full-time paycheck coming. I also have an opportunity to get back to bookkeeping on the side so I am hoping for three incomes with this new year. Billy bought me yoga gear and I am excited to get back to exercising and calming my demons.

We are starting the new year with an amazing opportunity. We are flying to Tennessee in mid-January. I have to go for work to meet with Trane and discuss the upcoming prison project and I am taking the family. We are going to visit with some of my favorite people and take in the sights. New experiences for the New Year.
I hope everyone has an amazing year and I am already thinking about my next blog. With all of the research I have done this week I think it might be nice to watch someone start at the beginning so for those interested you can see our successes and failures along the way.