Debt update

John and I continue to do an amazing job of not carrying a balance on our credit cards.  I do occasionally make purchases online with my credit card, but we always pay the bill in full.  As a result, we usually have money left over in our checking account at the end of the month, which was unheard of 5 years again. 

We are continuing to make extra payments on our home equity loan every month.  If we continue on this path, we will have the loan paid off in the fall of 2013.  I am both excited and disappointed about the pay-off date.  On one hand, we only have a year left!  On the other hand, I wish we didn't have to pour every penny into that loan for another year.

I swing wildly between wanting to fix-up our house and wanting to sell it.  I don't particularly like our house, but I think we could make it better.  What worries me is fixing up an older home.  I fear that every time we go to fix something, we'll find another problem lurking underneath. Buying a newer house also freaks me out, because if we sell anytime soon, we'll have to take loss on our house.  This translates into not having enough money for a down payment on another house.  Ugh.

But I am getting ahead of myself with all this house talk, because we can't do anything until that damn home equity loan is paid off.  So, be expecting lots of whiny posts about my housing situation next fall.  Until then, we will be working hard at saving money and paying down our debt. 

Holy crap!

I am insane, but you already know that.  For the past 5 years, I have had aluminum foil covering my daughter's bedroom windows.  You see, I bought her curtains and blinds before she was born.  Both let lots of light into the room, which I thought made the room look lovely.  Then I gave birth to the most wakeful baby EVER.  I quickly realized that she slept much better in a dark room, so I decided to foil her windows.  The blinds were brand new and the curtains matched her nursery theme, so blocking out the light with foil seemed like the most reasonable thing to do (her room is located on the backside of the house, so the foil covered windows aren't visible from the street).

Yesterday I decided to finally take the foil off.  The kids are older and sleep great, so there was really no reason to block out all the natural light in the back of the house (but for the record, the baby's windows are still covered in foil).  After removing everything, I seen this little beauty between the screen and the window...

 

How in the hell do you remove a bee's nest from your window?  I haven't seen anything crawling on the nest, but I am still too scared to actually try to remove it.  I really wanted to thoroughly clean the windows (they are flithy!), but I guess that is going to have to wait.  Stupid bees.

The new table...

Formerly, we had a little round pub style table w/barstools that seated four.  It was a great table for our kitchen, because it fit perfectly and also matched the oak cabinets.  When Guppy was born, I knew we were going to be in the market for a new table.  We use our dining room as a playroom, so the kitchen table is where we eat all our meals.

Originally, I wanted to purchase something in a golden oak color, so it would match our kitchen.  I don't particularly like that color, but I was trying to make the room look nice.  That idea quickly went out the window, because it is incredibly hard to find decent looking oak furniture.  Everything in an oak color seemed to have a country feel to it.  And I don't really like country stuff (and neither does John).

So, we shopped and shopped and shopped with all three kids in tow.  It was a long day, but I really wanted to find something.  Finally, at the last store we stopped in, we found a beautiful little table and sideboard.  The set didn't match our kitchen, but it was so lovely that I didn't even care.

So, here is our old kitchen table and our microwave stand (blah)...
 



And this is a picture of our fancy new table.  I was adamant that I had to have benches, and I got them!  I think they look fabulous.  And the sideboard?  It is just lovely.  I have long despised my microwave stand, and was more than happy to put that bitch out on the curb.

My life

We have lots of family drama going on right now.  My grandma broke her hip again.  Ugh.  She is having her surgery on Monday.  I am very worried about her and what affect this will have on her ability to walk again.  It is all very upsetting, and I hate that I am so fucking far away.

In other news, we finally bought a kitchen table large enough to accommodate our family.  Because I didn't want to spend any money, I had been putting this task off for months.  But that wasn't fair to Guppy.  We went to a million furniture stores on Saturday, and of course, we fell in love with a dining set at the last store we stopped in.  It doesn't match the rest of the kitchen, but I don't even care.  It is lovely.

And finally, John is on vacation this week.  Like always, we aren't going anywhere.  One of these days we will have all our debt paid off and then we'll actually be able to go somewhere fun. But not this year.  Anyways, we will be swimming and visiting the local attractions. 

I seem to suck at this whole blogging thing lately, and this week will be no exception. Sorry, my dear friends.

Kids' Day

Last year we started a new tradition.  After Mother's Day and Father's Day are done, we celebrate Kids' Day on the second Saturday in July.  It is exactly what you're thinking.  We delight in our children and indulge them all day long.

This Saturday was the BIG day.  The kids woke up to find presents and boxes of buttercreams.  Then we played some video games.  After Guppy woke up from his morning nap, we went bowling.  The kids LOVED it.  We came back for lunch and another nap.  When the baby woke up, we headed out to the local children's museum. Super awesome, of course.  Then we let the kids select a restaurant for dinner.  It was an action packed day, but so fun.

It was nice to just be in the moment with Porgie and Izzy, and let all our problems slide away.  I thought we needed Kids' Day last year when I was big and pregnant, but we needed it even more this year.  With Guppy's napping schedule, we don't go as many places as we use too.  And with my lack of sleeping, I feel like I haven't been my usual self with the kids.  Kids' day was awesome and I am so glad we decided to start this tradition.  They deserve it.

Going bonkers

I feel like I am going insane.  Seriously, I have been so flipping moody lately.  I hate feeling this way, and even more, I hate acting like a damn crazy person all the time.  I flipped out on my husband last night over dinner.  It was lovely.

I know EXACTLY where all my craziness is coming from - sleep deprivation.  Guppy has been exceptionally wakeful lately.  For the longest time, the kid refused to move.  He was a lump who liked to watch all the other babies crawl.  But suddenly he figured out how to get around.  He has mastered the art of scooting across the floor on his butt.  He can get into a sitting position when you lay him down.  He can pull-up on the furniture.  This all happened over the past two weeks, which is awesome and wonderful, but it is also super annoying because the child will not sleep.  Instead, he likes to sit up all night long (he will not lay flat anymore - EVER).  It is exhausting and I am so ready for all of these physical milestones to be old hat.

In other slightly related news, I am a fat cow who cannot stop eating.  I am not sure if it is the sleep deprivation or just stress, but I have absolutely no motivation to eat healthy or take care of myself.  All I want to do is eat sugar and sit on my ass.  And that is exactly what I do all day long.  A friend just invited us to the aquarium and I was all, "No thank you.  I have too much sitting around to do.  I think I'll get some ice cream and watch TV this afternoon.  But thanks for asking!  Maybe next time?"  I want to care.  I want to be my normal self.  But I am just not there yet.  So until I get over this hump, be expecting gratuitous talk about Ben & Jerry's.

Family time

After all the bitching and complaining I did last month, my mother actually did come to visit.  And she also brought my grandma!  They stayed for about a week, and it was a really great visit.  My granny is still pretty unsteady on her feet, which is heartbreaking to watch, but she was in good spirits during the visit.  I even managed to get her to a portrait studio and ordered some pictures of her and the kids.  I can't wait to get them back!

The one downfall to the visit was the sleeping arrangement.  We gave Grandma our bedroom because it is right next to the bathroom.  With her being so unsteady on her feet, I didn't want her sleeping in the guestroom in our basement.  So, my mom slept in the guestroom, I slept on a twin size air mattress (with Guppy) in the nursery, and John slept on the couch. 

The first three nights were okay.  It was cramped, but the baby and I managed to get a little sleep.  On the fourth night, my air mattress felt like it was losing air.  The next day I blew it up again, and hoped for the best.  I went to bed that night at 10pm and woke at 1am on the floor.  The mattress was completely flat.  I got up, refilled the mattress, and went back to sleep.  I woke up at 3am on the floor.  UGH.  Guppy and I did not sleep well that night.  Then, because I am an idiot, I decided that we could make it through another night on the floor (Have I mentioned that I am a cheap asshole?).  WORST NIGHT EVER.  Guppy woke up every hour.  Loooooong story short, I didn't sleep well.  But tonight is our first night back on the king size mattress I love dearly.  I am actually excited about going to bed!

So, in case you were wondering, no I did not fall off the face of the planet.