Join me on a journey of being frugal

Money is bittersweet. It's great to have it, but when you are grown up and have bills to pay and a family to take care of, it's a pain to sit down and run through everything that needs to be paid off.

As you know, I stay at home while my husband works. This will soon change though. Come October or November, we will be renting a house with nothing included. Our current apartment has free water, maintenance, lawn care, and pool care. Why move when there are so many things included here? It's my sister's house for rent and our apartment is full of noisy college kids, not to mention we're upstairs.
Now add in my dental care. I have been to the dentist a total of two times in my life, the first time only being a couple years ago. My family was never able to afford insurance [instead alcohol was a higher priority for them] and by the time I was a teen and had a job there was no way I'd spend my money on my health. I had to have new clothes and pay for my car and time out with friends. It wasn't until my son came along and I felt my teeth getting worse. Finally I contacted my in-law's dentist and I had an appointment. Around $4700 is the price I have to pay for parent's and my own neglect. That includes X-Rays, Cleaning, two root canals and sixteen [!!] cavity fillings. I will also need all four wisdom teeth pulled but that's done by a specialist and a whole nother bill.

So how will we make it through this? We have a son, which is by far our biggest priority. Thankfully I still breastfeed or else I would be spending way too much money on formula. We also have two cats that need food, litter, and check-ups. In a couple months we will be in a house. It will be further from my husband's job and we only have one car. I can get a job but it would have to be part-time, close to my in-laws so they can watch my son and be done by 1PM so I can go get my nieces from school. Mind you, my in-laws are near my husband's job and my nieces are by my [future] home. After being with them, I will have to pick up my husband from work...Thus lots of driving and gas. But there is no way we can pay for my dental bill with one income. Between a rock and a hard place? Yes. Is most of the country suffering the same circumstance? Absolutely. But how will we get through it? That's what I'll write about. Enjoying life, having what you need and some of what you want while getting by paycheck to paycheck.

[photo credit: myself. Lately my iPhone is my go to source of photography even though I have a nice Nikon collecting dust. I swear I'll get to adding more pictures when my brain is on track again]

Whoa! Where have I been?

The photo of my son above shows pretty much how I've felt lately.
It has been a whirlwind of a few months. I hope to get back into blogging because I have so many things to discuss!

First off, I quit my job of 4 1/2 years the Friday before Easter. Since then my husband started a career in Accounting, after being a stay-at-home-husband-turned-daddy for over a year. It was a tough transition. I was so used to being around a lot of noise and constantly "on the go" and suddenly I stopped it to be home with my son. I am forever grateful I did, and my husband stepped up to take on a job. All the while he got his AA degree! It may not seem like much but I couldn't be happier for him.

My darling son is now a little over 5 months old. He has 5 teeth and 3 more poking through. How on Earth he has all these teeth baffles me. This had led to many screaming, restless nights. We'll see what the doctor says at his next check-up. We also estimated that our little man is about 20lbs., we already had to transition him to a new car seat. He now sits up and can roll around to his right. We're still working on rolling to the left. I caught him saying "Mama" on film and currently he's saying "Ba".

In financial news: I understand many families are struggling just to find a job, and I just up an left mine, where I was very secure. Now, we continue to live paycheck-to-paycheck but took away a job and added more months to our sons age, making money very tight. Where we can, we pinch our pennies. After much discussion, we chose to be a one car family and sold my car to a dealership. While it is nice only worrying about one car, my husband must depend on me to drop him off and pick him up from work. Luckily his parent's home is a short distance from his job so I am able to visit them after dropping him off.
I have also begun couponing. While, I am nowhere near the "extreme" seen on TV, I have Excel spreadsheets of my coupon inventory as well as a large coupon binder (My shop will soon carry these!). My mother-in-law and I are working on said binders.

I really hope to chronicle more of my adventures in being a SAHM [including breastfeeding, homemade baby items, meals, organizing tips), dealing my low-income finances, and trying to be the best wife I can be for the best husband.

Hipster Animals

Just stumbled upon this tumblr blog of 'hipster animals'. These drawings are too funny, and spot-on! Like their facebook page here and check out their online store!

Pinterest

I was recently introduced to Pinterest while reading through one of my most favorite blogs, Young House Love. If you have yet to check it out, it's AMAZING. You have to have your invite "accepted" before you can really do anything of your own but it doesn't take too long to be accepted. Until then you can check out other's pinboards. You can view my boards here. I'm still new at it and working between my son's naps. Love it though!

 

[Photo Credit: WallflowerStudio ]

Easter Weekend

How was your holiday weekend? Robby had a great first Easter. Friday was my last day of work and now I am a stay at home mom working on Amazon and Etsy. My husband starts at his new job today as an accountant. We are so excited!
On Saturday we took Robby to meet some dogs that were for adoption. We currently have two cats and our apartment only allows two animals but there is no harm in looking. My older sister on the other hand found a handsome dog named Otis.

Sunday marked another first for my son. He rolled over for the first time! My husband and I had him on his tummy when suddenly he rolled over! When I went to video tape him attempting again he cried. Fortunately my husband got a couple more on video later on. Here he is holding his head up super high. My baby is getting so big! [3 months already!]

Robby was a bit crabby on Easter and wanted to constantly be held. My husband decided to go out and grab a Kolcraft Wonderbug from WalMart. While it is super cute, my son is still a bit small for it.

For Easter dinner we went to my parent's and also had an Easter egg hunt!

 Enjoying his gifts from Mom Mom!

Easter Special

10% off today and tomorrow only at my Etsy shop. I do custom orders too :)
Use the code ORANGE10 at checkout.

Pay It Forward

Etsy.com has this lovely little thing where you "pay it forward". Here you can feature other sellers in a treasury. If they are also part of the "pay it forward" group, they must feature you in their treasury. While I have yet to sign up for this group [will tonight!] I will do my own pay it forward. I was recently featured in StellaPearl's blog. She makes some of the cutest hair accessories! Check out her etsy shop. Click on any of the images from her shop below for more information on that product:

Don't you just love her quirky mannequins? Remember prom is coming up soon as well as wedding season! And today if you purchase from her shop be sure to use the code: 3041BAB for 15% off!