A little more specific.

I love watching my son grow. Well, sometimes I love it. I'm actually still really sad that he is my last one and he is growing up so stinkin fast. I was sitting in class today thinking about how old Jaida was when I went to nursing school the FIRST time. It seems so long ago!! She was 2. Same age as my son. I felt like I neglected her so much that year. Yet, here I am doing the same thing to my baby boy.
The differences between them are ASTOUNDING!
I told my son today, "Bugs, go get some shoes on so we can go pick up sissy from school."  He literally went and put on SOME shoes. His sisters. Concrete thinker!

I can't wait to spend more time with my kids!! The photographer in me will have pictures GALORE when I have school finished this time. I took TONS of pics of Jade when she was smaller, I am not getting to do that as much with my son. I feel like a bad mother! Hopefully once I graduate and am able to get my kids into more activities and spend more time with them, it will make up for this year I am lacking. 

This has got me thinking of when I went to school the first time. Jaida has always been so mature! She use to want to do everything I was doing. If I studied, she studied. I have proof:

She would do "school work" on her laptop and take notes just like I did.  (See my huge pile of books?!)

She drew "dead bodies." 

Silly nerd girl :)   I love her.

My son on the other hand doesn't even like to pretend to study. He is 90 to nothing ALL DAY EVERYDAY! It's nearly impossible to study around him. However, he has started taking an interest in doing "homework" with sissy.. and by doing homework, I mean drawing on her actual homework with markers.. or having her chase him for her homework, then he does mean things to it, like put it in the toilet. 

Ahhhh... the joys of boys!

I wish we could go back to my Jaida-bug being that little! She was so dang cute! Not saying she isn't cute now, but now her cuteness comes with attitude. She's 9 going on 20. Im serious! 

She tells me things now like, "You "totes" don't understand MY generation.." or when someone texts her saying LOL, she feels the need to explain that it means "laugh out loud," as people who are MY age clearly have no idea what txt talk is. 

Daniel and I were talking about remembering when they launched Google. She was literally disgusted. She said, and I quote, "Oh my God, you're not serious? Ya'll are OLDER than GOOGLE?!"    ....as if Google was the oldest thing ever. 

Little baby Jaida didn't act like that. She thought I knew everything!

I'll never forget sending her to my bestie-boo Launa's house for the day. Launa is now a nurse, and can "totes" understand medical jargon.. but back then, she didn't really know med talk. Anyway, Jaida and Savannah (her bff) are playing, and Jaida runs to Launa to tell her, "I think I scratched my cornea!!!" Launa freaks and says, "Oh my Gosh!!!! Whats a cornea?! Do I need to call your mom?!"   ...hilarious!!!!

Having a "nurse" daughter is pretty fun. She doesnt get afraid of procedures (i.e. stitches on her chin due to taping plastic play dishes to her feet and trying to "iceskate.")  Or... getting shots, MRI's, staples.. none of this scares her. She is also pretty good at fixing up her friends and family who get hurt or need first aid. I am pretty proud of that. She's a pretty awesome kid. 

Although, when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you she is going to attend UGA and be a waitress while in school... but she is undecided on what to go to school for. 

Now that I am feeling all nostalgic, here are some throwback pics of me from nursing school the first time... a LONG time ago. 2007-2008. 

Which one am I? 

Can't wait till we are taking these pictures again!! Only this time I'll be wearing green! I think I need to start taking more pics of classmates and random things to help me remember. Plus, because I am so ancient (as Jade likes to say) cameras now a days are WAY better than they were back then!! 

Anyway, I'm gonna get to studying Pedi. I have a pretty big test tomorrow! 

Until next time!

I'm still alive, I promise!

So much has happened! I feel the need to catch you up on the latest buzz! I havent been on here since February! 8 months. Jeez. It was like I was in nursing school or something?!  Oh wait.. I totally am! I am halfway through my 2nd to last semester. And, I really get no time to myself. I go to school ALL DAY Monday thru Thursday, then work 12-14 hour shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
See? No life.

I also am not even going to begin talking abut my debt. When I got my acceptance into the program, I found out the VA decided not to do the "Vaneep" program this year.. meaning, no school funding. They also decided not to allow us to work part-time, so I had to go back to Pedi home health. However, I cannot work full time hours anymore due to school, so we lost about 15k a year. All my debt reduction was for nothing it seems. I am more in debt now than ever. We had to get a 2nd car to allow me to get to school and work, I had to take out more loans to survive, I had to take out student loans to pay for school and books, We maxed out our emergency credit card, and we are pretty much always behind on things now.

I just keep telling myself it will all be better when I graduate in May. I can start working on my debt again then, as I will be working full time again. 

BTW, I have 200 days left till I graduate. Remember when I had 200+ till I could even apply to the program?! 

AHHH! Im so excited. 

School is very stressful, though. Thankfully this year, I have a super awesome school bestie named Sarah. She is seriously one of the things that keeps me going. Without her, I'd be lost. 

I also had to put Jaida back in public school. It got way too hard to deal with my school work AND hers. She is doing really well, and adjusted with no issues. Her teachers are both super nice. I held her back in 3rd grade though. I didn't feel like she was ready for 4th grade. I am glad I did. She was struggling with math.. and now she understands it better than I do. 

I also found out I have a new nephew on the way. He is due in 17 days!!! His name is Landon, and I am freakishly excited to meet him. Baby fever will hit me again soon, I just know it. For right now, though, I am just excited about where I am in life. I love the direction I am going, and I know things can only look up from here. My family is going to be so blessed. 

Oh, and I also turned 30. I didn't have a party like I had planned... with me being in school and having to work, I had no time. I'll make up for it next year. I'll have my "Roaring 20's, 31st birthday" next September. I can't wait to graduate and get life on the ball again!

Anyway, I guess I'll get to work now! All work and no play makes Summer a dull girl.

Until next time!

Latest Payoffs!

I paid a ton of stuff off last month. See?

• My mortgage. Currently up to date! Not behind!!
• I also currently owe $400 to my HOA. PAID
• One car payment. Currently up to date! Not behind!
• I have a Victorias Secret card with a balance of $97 PAID
• I have a Best Buy card with a balance of $279 PAID
• I have a Target card with a balance of $161 PAID
• I owe Finger Hut $1234 $1209
• We have a joint Texell Credit Card with a balance of $1383 $900
• We have a joint Texell loan for our swimming pool, balance of $2300 PAID
• 1 loan from Security Finance, balance of $1500 $1150
• 1 loan with Family Loans, balance of $1000 $820
• My daughters 3rd grade homeschool balance $500 PAID
• College Network (AKA HORRIBLE joke loan), balance of $6042 (and I have NO idea what this amount is right now. They don't send regular statements AND they never answer their phone.)

BUT TODAY... I paid off Fingerhut and my Family Loan.

So..... now it looks like this:

Heres the original list with some NEW modifications!!!!

• My mortgage. Currently up to date! Not behind!!
• I also currently owe $400 to my HOA. PAID
• One car payment. Currently up to date! Not behind!
• I have a Victorias Secret card with a balance of $97 PAID
• I have a Best Buy card with a balance of $279 PAID
• I have a Target card with a balance of $161 PAID
• I owe Finger Hut $1234 $1209 PAID
• We have a joint Texell Credit Card with a balance of $1383 $900
• We have a joint Texell loan for our swimming pool, balance of $2300 PAID
• 1 loan from Security Finance, balance of $1500 $1150
• 1 loan with Family Loans, balance of $1000 $820 PAID
• My daughters 3rd grade homeschool balance $500 PAID
• College Network (AKA HORRIBLE joke loan), balance of $6042 (and I have NO idea what this amount is right now. They don't send regular statements AND they never answer their phone.)

I'm so excited!!!!!  YAY ME!!

Until next time!!

Guess what!

I have been slacking on blogging lately. It's not that I didn't want to, believe me I did! However, my horrible new English teacher is putting me through the ringer at school. Plus I am working ALL the time it seems.
On a side note, I find out my nursing school fate in 23 days! I am so excited. I also discovered that the program at my job I was going to use to pay for nursing school and allow me to NOT work, is not happening this year. Apparently they don't have "placement" for us once we graduate.... in 2015. Ridiculous.

Therefore, I will probably be going back to pedi home health soon. Which is fine with me, the hours are much better. I can work as little or as much as I want.. plus I will be able to study. Don't get me wrong, I will really miss my 3J peeps and the Veterans, but there is no way I can work full time, go to school full time, homeschool Jaida, and be able to spend time with my hubby.

......On to the good stuff!!  The real reason I am so excited about this blog today.

As of today, I got rid of the three credit cards I had, paid off my swimming pool, paid my HOA fees, paid off Jaida's school, and put $800 into my Emergency Savings Fund.

Here is the original plan I had in December for the upcoming year:

Debt

Heres the original list with some NEW modifications!!!!

• My mortgage. Currently up to date! Not behind!!
• I also currently owe $400 to my HOA. PAID
• One car payment. Currently up to date! Not behind!
• I have a Victorias Secret card with a balance of $97 PAID
• I have a Best Buy card with a balance of $279 PAID
• I have a Target card with a balance of $161 PAID
• I owe Finger Hut $1234  $1209
• We have a joint Texell Credit Card with a balance of $1383  $900
• We have a joint Texell loan for our swimming pool, balance of $2300 PAID
• 1 loan from Security Finance, balance of $1500  $1150
• 1 loan with Family Loans, balance of $1000 $820
• My daughters 3rd grade homeschool balance $500 PAID
• College Network (AKA HORRIBLE joke loan), balance of $6042 (and I have NO idea what this amount is right now. They don't send regular statements AND they never answer their phone.)

Looking better, right?!

I have already started planning on how to pay off at least one of my silly loans. I'll promise you this, I will NEVER take out another loan again. EVER.

I am so proud of my progress, and how much I have grown to love budgeting and saving money. I cannot wait to attend Dave's University classes with my coworker, and becoming DEBT free (minus my house and car) by next summer. I will also walk across the stage next summer and get pinned as an RN. woot! Good things are coming for me and my family.

Oh, and I promise I'll be better about updating this blog. I won't let my evil teacher stand in the way again. I hope!


Until next time!

The Plague.

I am pretty sure I narrowly escaped death from "The Plague." My whole household was sick. We were fighting each other for the restrooms. I am so glad its over. Worst. Disease. Ever.
I'm not sure really what it was.. flu, gastroenteritis, Ebola. Who knows. All I do know is that is was the most horrible experience ever. It's bad enough being sick on your own, or seeing your kids sick. But, my husband was sick. I don't even have to say much else, because ALL wives out there know what I mean. He was whinier than my 2 kids. He moaned and groaned and whined. I literally had to tell him to shut up before I suffocated him out of his misery. Sick 8 year old, sick 1 year old who wouldn't stop pooping everywhere, sick 29 year old BABY and then sick me. When moms get sick, no matter how crap-tastic we feel, we still are the ones left to deal with the kids. And for some reason, my kids hate sleeping, especially while sick. My son learned how to remove his diaper and poop on the floor. Fun times. I felt really bad for him though, because the poor baby pooped so much his butt was raw and bleeding. We went through 22 diapers in one day, because he just wouldn't stop. And when he wasn't pooping, he was puking. What a mess.
Jaida ran a high fever the entire time and just laid around. When she started feeling better, she helped me take care of the baby. She's such a good helper when she wants to be. However, if you interrupt her during a game or when she is on her phone, it's like you asked her to walk on hot coals. She gets angry. Much like her dad. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I am sick of talking about our plague, so lets move on to another subject.School started Tuesday!! Wow, I feel so out of touch. It feels like I haven't blogged in forever. I already took 3 quizzes, and made 100's on all of them. I am trying to stay ahead. One of my classes is awesome, and allows you to take quizzes and do homework whenever, as long as you keep up with the due dates. So, I have already taken Week 1 quiz and week 2 quiz for that class. I am going to try to get that class done and over with. My Business writing class is a little different. She only lets you do one week at a time. She wont even let you see what is due next week to allow you to get ahead. Her class is going to take forever! I like getting things done early, especially when I have down time.
Oh well, at least one of my classes I can hurry through. I am mainly just trying to stay busy while waiting on my acceptance letter. The English-Business writing class is a class that I would have needed while in the bridge program. I'm just getting it out of the way so I can focus all of my time on my actual nursing classes. The other class is a First -Aid class. Why am I taking that you ask? Because I needed a class worth 3 credits to allow me to get my reimbursement money for tuition, and it will be an easy A. Plus, you can never learn too much about first aid as a nurse. Maybe this class will teach me new tricks, and keep things fresh in my mind. Besides, it was the only other "health" type class I could find that was online and available. All it can do is boost my GPA more!

I cannot wait to be paid again. (next week!) I can start socking money into an emergency savings fund and I am going to pay off my V/S credit card. I think I have changed my mind about slicing up the cards. I never want to be in this situation again. I will never again buy anything on credit... ever again! Whats the point in holding on to the card? So in a moment of weakness, I can go charge things I don't need and fall back into the credit card trap again? I don't think so. I am done! February will be a good month for us, we will get income tax, my school reimbursement, my husbands KPI bonus (about $400) and I will get my raise from work. Things are looking up. I am going to take all of the money I get, pay off as much as I can while putting $1000 aside for emergencies. My plan is coming together! I love it!!

Well, I am going to go do some homework.

Until next time!!

A house of sicklies.

Casa De Blessing is officially changed to Casa De Sicklies. It seems as if the flu has struck Jaida, my son has mud-butt so bad he is raw and bleeding, I have cedar fever and now hubbs is throwing up. I got up early this morning and wiped everything down with bleach water and lysoled the heck outta everything touchable. I also made everyone eat some vitamin c chewables.
My poor son has had a rough few days! The other day while homeschooling Jaida, he climbed to the top of her desk. He does this sometimes while she reads, and I think its cute because he sits still and listens to her read. He loves it. I never thought of it as a problem because I her desk is against the wall, he's doing it to get closer to her while she reads and because I am ALWAYS in the room. Except for the other day. I left the room for MAYBE 1 minute. Just long enough to let my dog outside to pee. Apparently Thor climbed atop Jaida's desk while she was reading. They then began to have an altercation over a bag of Jade's cheetos, and he attempted to grab the bag and run, only to topple over HEAD FIRST in between the desk and the shelf unit that is sitting almost against the desk. he landed upside down on a metal bar. Scared the bejeezus out of me. He had a dent where he landed, but he never really cried. Long story short, I asked my husband to keep an eye on him while I went to work that evening, and he let him sleep the entire time I was away. When I came home from work, he had just woken up but began puking. First on me, then everywhere. By the time we had arrived to the hospital, he had thrown up 13 times. He ended up getting a CT scan at 3 am, but it came back normal. Doc said he had a small concussion, and just to monitor him. He was fine, but I think sitting in that waiting room, he contracted something. Diarrhea started the day after, and now its like water. His poor little butt is raw and bleeding. I have tried everything! Well, except one thing. A coworker of mine just texted me a homeopathic remedy. I am going to try this as soon as my lil guy wakes up, and if it works, I'll let yall know!
I had to go to the store earlier to get something for this stinkin Cedar Fever! While I was there, I came across a diaper cream called Anti-Monkey Butt. Naturally I had to get it. I put that on Thor as soon as I gave him an oatmeal bath. Hopefully one of these remedies will kick in. I hate the fact he cant even sit down. It hurts to watch my kids suffer. That, and it really sucks to be sick at the same time as your husband and kids. I still have to hold down the fort. Everyone knows a sick husband is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. He whines, he sniffles, he asks for water, asks for a napkin, wants me to bring him medicine. He wanted me to rub his back while he was puking. He called me to come into the bedroom from the other side of the house to ask me to turn off the fan. I'm not bitter or anything, but goodness. And now Jaida is acting just like him. Someone rescue me? If there is one thing around here that aint nobody got time for, its that.
Speaking of time, school starts day after tomorrow. I am ready to get this done so I can forget about my countdown to March 14, and stay busy. 54 days isn't so bad, right?
Anyway, I think I am going to get off here and try to get my little sicklies to bed.

Until next time!

Back to work!

Man how I enjoyed my 2 days off. It is sad to have to come back to work after lazing around! Just kidding. I wish I had time to laze around. Actually, I was pretty busy. I have been selling all of Jaida's old homeschool books on Amazon along with some of my college books, so I was back and forth to the library a few times. We also had to go grocery shopping, and I had to clean my house. Oh, not to mention homeschool Jaida and go get my books for school.
How come moms never really get a day off?
I can't say I don't love it though. For those 2 days, I get to spend ALL day with my babies. Last night, me and the kids snuggled on the couch and watched Percy Jackson 2. Jaida is obsessed with those movies. She is obsessed with Greek mythology period. It is part of her curriculum this year and she loves it so much, she has read almost ALL of the text book already. Maybe I should buy her the Percy Jackson books. And I will start looking for some Greek Mythology books. She also likes anything dealing with zombies. My weird little girl. I love her uniqueness!
I got a really exciting letter in the mail today. I was invited to go to New Zealand! I am totally not going, but its super cool I was invited. Maybe if I had the money, but its a lil too expensive. Also, maybe I would go if I didn't have kids.. but I really don't think I could be away from my kids for more than a week. I wouldn't even last a day. I would cry the entire time. The cool thing is that my bestest friend also go invited. Man, where was this opportunity 10 years ago before we had kids and could spread some major shenanigans?! Angela really wants to go. I hope she gets to! I could live vicariously through her. Other than that, nothing is really going on in the land of Summer. I am trying to stay busy so my 56 day wait doesn't seem like it will never come. I am also working REALLY hard to do my budget. I am just thankful that starting my next check 2 weeks from now, I will really be able to pay things off, instead of play catch up. Last check we were left with 80 bucks. This check, we were left with about $150. This next check will bring money into savings AND I will start paying off cards. I'm stupidly excited for this to happen!
Plus, I am loving the fact I have so many people coming to me for budget help. I have inspired so many of my friends to start budgeting and save money. All of us want to be debt free and have money in savings! (Unless your name is Angela and you like to shop online daily.. teehee!!!!  Not as if I am watching you do this at this very moment or anything!)

Here is my awesome letter:

I love my job. Well, sometimes I do. When I work with my awesome evening peeps, I LOVE it. There are some really awesome day shift people too, but I don't get to work with them like I do the evening crew. Plus, my BFF works evenings with me, and lets just be honest, we are the awesomest.

 

 

Until next time!

 



Books, bills and groceries! Oh my!!

Today is the day! We got paid! I'm waiting for our checks to get deposited (my bank deposits after noon, how dumb is that?!) so I can pay off some things, and mark some things off in my Budget Binder! I felt like this day would never come! Today, we are officially NO LONGER BEHIND!!! Our next paycheck will not have to be spent playing catch up, it will go to paying off my V/S credit card and paying my home owners fees. One card will be gone, and my HOA fees will be done for the year! The check after that will be a mortgage payment and a few bills, but hopefully there will be enough left over to pay off my Target card. I still cannot bring myself to cut up the cards, so I bought a baseball card holder page thingy to put them all in. I will have them filed away in my budget binder, and have PAID OFF in black sharpie over the card. I can't wait!
I went and bought my school books yesterday. $292 on 3 books. Unbelievable. Normally when it comes to school, I buy a TC hoodie or T-shirts and other things I dont need. I didn't yesterday. I just got my books! I was so proud. My classes will start next Tuesday. That should hold me over and keep me busy until I find out if I got accepted to the bridge. (which, btw, is 57 days away)
I was off work yesterday, so I used my free time to print coupons and browse the HEB sales paper. We have to go grocery shopping today, so I wanted to be a little prepared. They have a few sales on produce, AND a coupon to print off for $3 off $8 in produce. My son could eat his weight in oranges and bananas, and I am trying to lose weight and be healthier, so I am going to take advantage of this sale! I really wish stores would let me double coupon down here. For some reason, Texas hates double/triple couponing. It aggravates me. There is one store that doubles them, but that store is 30 minutes away, and only lets you use 20 coupons a day. Sometimes it would be worth the drive, but I'm not sure it would benefit me often. When I take my coupons into the store, I use wayyyy more than 20. I'm not sure how normal households go grocery shopping, but we seem to hate it, so we wait till there is literally NOTHING to eat before we go. This happens once a month or so. We normally spend about $300 per trip, once a month. The thought of going twice a month makes me sick.
Anyway, I am going to get on with my day off duties!

Until next time!

Countdown!

This is payday week!!!!! And after this payday, I will no longer be behind on anything! My next check 2 weeks from now will be devoted to paying off debt, instead of playing catch up! I cannot wait to get this show on the road! I was talking to my husband today about our future in finances. We both agreed that we cannot wait till the day we can buy things we need or want and not have to worry about taking away from our grocery money or bill money. SOON!!!!!
I am pretty proud of how organized I've gotten with the budget and family binders. I showed Daniel everything and what to expect.I finally got him excited for the change. I cannot wait to go to Financial Peace University in March. Dave Ramsey has already changed the way I think, and I am desperate for more knowledge!
I am super duper impressed with my daughter lately. 3rd grade so far has been all about change. We are changing and becoming more independent. I no longer have to stand over top of her and help her/read instructions/demonstrate. I set out her assignments and leave her notes on what to do, she does it and I grade it. I still have to explain her math to her and show her examples. AND we do science projects together. But for the most part, she does everything on her own, and I just grade. It has given me a little more time to work with my son on his words. We sing, do sign language and go over words. I guess its like I am homeschooling him right now too, just not so extreme. I even have time to clean a little and make lunch. These are things I am not really use to. Since homeschooling began, my entire day has been taken up with Jaida's school, my school then me going to work. I never really had much time for anything else.. which made my days off a nightmare as I had to catch up on laundry, run errands, clean my house, try to catch up on Jaida's assignments we missed and all the other mom stuff I never had time for. I have mixed feelings about this though. Part of me is jumping for joy! And part of me is sad that my baby is growing up. Pretty soon she wont need me at all. The thought of that makes my stomach hurt.

So, I officially have 59 days till I find out my nursing fate. This wait is worse than pregnancy! At least during pregnancy the end result is a baby. I cannot guarantee I will get into the program when my wait is over. All I can hope for is the best. *Fingers crossed*

But enough about me!

Keeping my head in the game.

I guess because I am not made of money and I cannot work on paying bills or budgeting every single day, I feel like I am not making progress. I knew that January would be a tough month for me as I got caught up on a few bills and started working towards my budget. Every bit of money I got from our paychecks went to catching up. I have 6 days till payday and we are just about broke. I know in the back of my mind that I AM making progress, and I keep reminding myself January was going to be rough, but I can't help but feel like nothing is happening. I can't wait till my next check so that I can feel like I am making a difference again.

I have been cleaning and organizing my house like a mad woman. It feels sooo nice to wake up and everything be clean and organized. I have started putting together a list of things I'd like to buy for my house to make organization a lil easier. For example, I need a few of those desktop wire shelves. I think they are about $3, but I would like to put canned foods on them in my pantry. Then I need more shelves in my office closet and in my garage. I got myself a label maker, but I ruined the first cartridge that came with it. I am not sure what I did, but the ink tape kept coming out with the actual labels I was making. I bought another cartridge online, but I am a little scared to try and use it. I am afraid I will break that one too!

I will be going to the college this coming week to get my books for class. I dread going. I looked up the price of the books in the bookstore, ONE of them is $182.  *gasp*  I found it online for $70 on amazon, but I don't really have to $70 to spend right now. I have to use my financial aid money for my school books, and I dread spending that much. Why do they have to make school books so expensive? Thank goodness I SOMEHOW qualify for the tiny bit of financial aid I get. I would be completely lost without it.
I am hoping that if I get accepted into my bridge program that I will qualify for the Vaneep program here at work. That will pay for my schooling, and I will get my regular paycheck every 2 weeks (as if I was working normally) for going to school. Now, I would have to come in on my school breaks, but heck yeah! I wouldn't neglect my kids by having to work AND go to school at the same time. Plus, I am very ADHD. I have a really hard time working and going to school at the same time. If I don't get the Vaneep program, I am going to have to quit working at the VA and go back to weekends only for home health. There is no way I can go to school all morning, come back to work, home school Jaida, spend time with my son and make good grades. Fingers crossed for Vaneep. Although, first I need to hope and pray I get selected to bridge! We will worry about Vaneep when we cross that bridge later.

62 days! I can't wait!!

Gettin Antsy.

I realize that most of you think I'm silly for being excited to repay my debt. I cannot wait to get paid again so I can pay down more things. I have done very good at sticking to my plan, although I really only started less than a month ago. It's funny how much you can accomplish when you set your mind to it. I have to admit, I cheated a little, I took my kids to Applebees the other day. It wasn't part of my budget, and now I feel guilty about indulging. It was kind of a spur of the moment ordeal since I barely get a chance to do fun things with my kids. I nicknamed my son Dave (from Dave Ramsey) that day because he was the most HORRIBLE child in Applebees. He threw food at people sitting behind us and screamed the entire lunch. He was nicknamed Dave because I should have known better than to spend that extra money. He was teaching me a lesson. To be fair, it was money that I made from selling my books, and I only spent $15 taking me and my 2 kids out to eat. But that $15 could have gone into savings.
I'm only human, right?

The last 3 days have flown by. I hope that is a glance of how my 2 month wait will be. When I think of the fact I have 63 days or so left until I get my acceptance letter, it seems unbearable. I wonder how I ever waited in my pregnancies? Waiting is just not my thing!

I start school again in 11 days! I am pretty excited about that. Maybe that will occupy  my time and make the wait fly by. Until then, I will do my best to make more Budget type items to sell on Etsy.

We are getting slammed with admissions here at work, so this post has to be short and sweet.

Until next time!

Great week!

Tuesday was one of the best days. My wait for the bridging application ended, my nephew Jason was born and I made $50. I had been counting down till January 7th since June 2012. I can't believe it is over now. It took so long to get to, its kinda bittersweet. I have now started a countdown till letters are mailed. It's a guesstimate though, because letters get mailed the Friday before spring break. Spring break is March 9-14. So I can get the letter anytime during that period. I am using March 14 to base my letters JUST IN CASE it takes all of spring break for the silly mailmen to deliver. You know how they are. They KNOW you have an important letter coming, so they mess with you. At least, thats what I think my mailman does. I have the craziest mailman ever. He is off every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. I don't get ANY mail on either of those days. It's weird. But I have 64 days to wait till March 14! It seems so far away.
Jordan and I went up to the school and applied together. I don't think you could have imagined anyone else as nervous as we were. Both of us were shaking, double and triple checking our apps and genuinely freakin out. I was applicant 12, and Jordan was lucky number 13. Angela went later and got number 22. That scared me, because the bridge process accepts apps until February 10, and if 22 people had already applied one DAY ONE, that makes me nervous. They only accept 25 people as a bridger anyway. So it looks like we have a lot of competition. I'm more nervous now.

This is Jordan and I during the application process. I'm so glad she was there with me. I seriously could not have done it alone.

I had been so busy counting down till January 7th as the day I applied, I never realized I was also doing a countdown to the day my nephew would be born. He was born at 5:14pm on January 7. I will never forget this day as long as I live. When he gets older, I can tell him I was a nervous wreck all day trying to determine my fate as a nurse, until I held him. Every feeling of nervousness went away. He is perfect!! Big as hell, but perfect!!! My little brother is so freakin proud. He couldn't stop smiling. And Marti did so awesome. First, I give kudos to her cause she pushed him out without a c-section. Loki (hehehe) was 8lbs 15oz... one freakin ounce from being 9 lbs!!! And she pushed him out like a champ! I thought I had died pushing out 6lbs and 2 oz. ha! And Marti is so tiny. Man I am a super proud aunt. And, I am so glad Marti is now linked to me for life. I love that girl!

Anyway, without further a due....

meet Jason Paul Batcha 

born January 7, 2014

5:14pm

8lbs 15oz

20.5 inches long

I dunno the feelings I feel. I was seriously just as proud of him as I was my own kids. I even cried while looking at him. He is so snuggly and soft and loveable. I love him so much!!!!

To top the day off (as if that was possible) I also made $50!! I am on a cleaning spree around the house, came across a few of my old school text books from WAY back when.. posted em up on Amazon, and before I could even post them all, 3 of them sold. I ended up selling 4 of the 8 I posted, and made 50 dollas!!! Win win!!!

Ok, well I am gonna get back to cleaning. I guess spring-cleaning fever has hit me early. I am trying to get cute ideas from pinterest now. Until next time!!

Tomorrow!

Well folks! Tomorrow is the big day! We turn in our applications for the bridge program! I wasn't nervous until today. I had to go to the school to get my official transcripts, and when she put them in my hand, I got butterflies. Of course, OCD me has everything I need in a folder with a checklist.

Transcript- check
Letters of recommendation- check
Proof of employment- check
Copy of Nursing License- check
Copy of membership to PTK- check

Nerves- not check. I am a nervous wreck. I am not sure how I am going to handle the 2 month wait if I am freaking over the application process tomorrow.

I would just like to say that I am thankful I have such wonderful ladies applying with me and enduring the horrible wait along side me. We got this ladies! I cannot wait till we can say, "I got my letter... open yours first!!"

Alright, this post is making me a lil nervous thinking about tomorrow, so I am going to move on to other things. I called the double-dippin agency today. They are refunding what they double-dipped! Sucks that it is going to take 3-5 days, but at least its in the works! I also got a surprise from Best Buy. They are refunding me $25 as they caught a mistake they had made by overcharging me for my Best Buy protection plan. So, I get $170 in refunds this week! Yay!

I have been working so hard to put together my binders. I have the budget one done. I am working on the family one. Today I realized I never ordered my sons birth certificate. So next payday I will do that. And I seem to have lost a shot record, so I will have to order that too. I have created "health sheets" to go behind each of our tabs. I am still working on those. I need to get addresses of dentists, etc.

I also have been working on my coupons. If you read my blog WAY BACK WHEN, I gave a tutorial on how to coupon. I used the binder method back then. But honestly, it became way too tedious to cut out every single coupon and file them in the binders. I switched to the tote method. I have hanging folders, and I file the inserts by date. The problem with that was that when we went grocery shopping, I'd have to go through EVERY months insert to find grocery coupons. None of the grocery stores down here double or triple coupon, so we don't save too much money going to the grocery store. But every bit counts! Most of my stockpile is non-edible items like laundry soap, paper towels, etc. So I got a binder that I use JUST for grocery coupons. It's a small 1" binder that fits in my purse, and I have tabs for pantry items, fridge items, freezer items and so on. It's just easier for me to do it like this. At least I am not clipping every coupon in the insert. Instead, I only clip and file grocery coups.. and I leave the rest to my tote. Win-win.

Anyway, child numba 2 just woke up from his nap! Have a good day! I'll check in tomorrow!

Those Double Dippers!!

Last night I worked on my binders. I came up with the cutest design. As soon as I make all the pages for the binder, I will sell them on Etsy for about $2. I used gray for the background image to save on ink printing costs. So far I made a budget, a calendar and family contact sheets. I did some research on Etsy, and people LOVE buying these things. Hopefully I have found my side hustle. 

I mentioned last time I was trying to convert my best friend into budgeting and saving money. Karen and I both have been talking to her about it. I think we made a tiny step of progress, cause last night she brought her bill pay notebook and worked on it. I was so proud! I have found out that it is fun to budget, it can even be exciting. However, it would be a LOT more fun having your best friend doing it with you. I have no idea what I did to trick my brain into wanting to save money. I have said I would save and get out of debt before, but this time is different. This time my brain agrees, and I  have not had the urge to spend like I use to. I am excited to pay off bills. I am also LOVING adding to my savings. I can recall feeling like this once before, but not so extreme. It was in 2009, and hubbs and I decided we needed a house for our then only child. She was rambunctious and needed a backyard. So, we started looking and fell in love with the twin to my now house. When we talked to the lenders about it, she said our credit was too bad. But, she took our case anyway, because she said she knew I could get our credit up enough points if I followed her directions. She said I reminded her of a young her, and she really wanted us to get a house. I owe her everything! She gave me the best advice, and 6 months later, we were having our house built. During the 6 month wait, I did everything she told me. I paid things off, I bargained with creditors, I wrote a letter to different creditors EVERY SINGLE day until I got things where I needed them. We saved every penny of our money then. 

This time is a little different. Yes, I am wanting to get in a bigger house. We have now added a second child, and he is roomless. Sure we could give him the office, but then that would leave all our office stuff (3 computers, homeschool area, storage) homeless, so its just easier for son to share a room with us. But getting a new house isn't the reason I want to budget and save. I want to now more than ever cause I am about to be 30, and I refuse to live paycheck to paycheck anymore. I want to be able to put Jaida into college in 10 years, then Thor in 17 years. I want to have enough money to support us if another death happens, I am not struggling by taking time off work. I don't wanna be in the never ending debt circle again. And I wont. This year I am going to kick debt's butt. Watch!

I was so excited for my first paycheck to go towards getting caught up on bills. I checked my bank account yesterday, and one of the bills was drawn out twice. It's a good thing I set aside $150ish for groceries, and didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping yet. I will have to call them on Monday and get them to refund me. I was generous letting them have the first bit of money, they cant have it twice! ha. The sucky thing is that is usually takes 7-10 business days to get a refund. Ask how I know? Because Time Warner usually is the one to take money twice out of my account. Apparently its become a fad, because the College Network joke loan did the same. Maybe I should rethink the money envelope system. I just don't have time to go pay bills at the actual places. Its so much easier to pay them online. I guess its not too much easier, cause at least once every 3 months, they double draft me. There will come a time along this journey of mine, that it will not be so devastating if they accidentally withdraw me twice, I won't have to forgo grocery shopping. It will still suck, but it won't be a burden waiting 7-10 days for the refund. I can't wait till I get to that point. Until then, I will not let this shake me from my path! I am on a mission! 

First paycheck and some side hustle..

Ahhhh. My first paycheck of budgeting! I paid my December mortgage, my December car pay, my college network loan that was late, AND all the first of the month bills. Score. I was able to pick up a few groceries, and hubbs was able to get his Whey protein. Sad thing is that we only have about $60 to last us till our next paycheck, but everything is paid!!! So, I am most definitely good! It feels good being OFFICIALLY caught up. I cannot wait till I can say that about being done with credit cards and loans!
I have some exciting news to top being caught up on bills. My friend and coworker, Karen, has invited me to attend Financial Peace University with her! Our classes will start in March. I am so giddy and excited to learn as much as I can about money and debt. Dave Ramsey has really changed my life. I have seen the errors of my ways, and am determined to change. Plus, I now have Karen to go through this journey with me, so I always have a support system. Now I just need to work on getting my best friend involved. You hear that Angela?! I'm comin for YOU!!!
I mentioned before I have been stalking reading other finance blogs. Just about every one of them has a side hustle to make extra money. I have been thinking about what I could do to side hustle. I use to do photography as a side job, but I just don't have time for that with my work schedule now. I also sell Advocare, but that stuff is super expensive, and not too many people are up to buy it. I have had a few people ask me to make them budget sheets and other random sheets, so I thought maybe I could sell those since I am good at making them. A few friends of mine are having yard sales to sell their stuff, but I really like my stuff. I don't really know what I will end up doing, but I'm sure I will figure something out.
Speaking of budget sheets, I brought my binders and stuff to work with me tonight so I can put them together during my down time...... or if you are a coworker of mine reading this, by down time, I totally mean LUNCH.... not during the time I am sitting behind the nursing desk. ha
I am kinda excited to get them started, so I am going to say ta-ta for now!

I will upload pictures of the finished product later!

Binders.

I have been looking into doing household "binders" for a little while now. I just don't have a lot of time to devote to things like that. The reason I started thinking to do that is because heaven forbid something happen to me, my poor hubbs would not know what to do. With a binder setup, like the one below, things would be pretty self explanatory.

One of my goals for this year was to try to meal plan. I am not sure I would use the "Blog" binder, but the house, budget, meal plan and emergency ones would benefit me. 

I got this idea from Stacy's Savings Blog. I am huge on organization, so this idea really sticks out to me. I kinda wish Staples was open at midnight, cause I would totally go get the stuff I need to get this done. I think I need to hint around to my husband to buy me a label maker too. 

Budget Binder

I made my own budget worksheet that works for me. But, once I start paying down things, it will change quite a bit. So, I won't print out ones for each month until its time. I don't want to print out blank ones either, because I hate my handwriting, and printing just looks so much neater. 

I don't really see a need for the Expense Detail page Stacy listed, but I might print one just in case. You never know when you go out to eat on a whim, or spend money on clothes on a whim. I know that I am using this year not to do these things, but I am only human after all, so the opportunity may arise. At least having this sheet in my budget binder will help me keep up with times like that. 

The Bill Pay Checklist is probably my favorite page yet. You print one page for the entire year, and check off the bills as they are paid for the month. 

Then, I will definitely use the monthly calendar. This is the page I feel will help my husband the most if something were to happen to me. He would know the dates each bill is due. 

Seems fool proof enough, right? 

Also, I really like the idea of using baseball card holders to store all the cards. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE having the page in the back for account logins. He will have no excuse to not pay bills if it comes down to it!

House Binder, mine would be Family Binder

Now, this binder I would do completely different. I already have the Weekly Cleaning Schedule and To-Do Lists hanging on my command center with a calendar and a dry erase board. I don't need to do this twice. However, in my Family binder, I would have sections for each of us in the family. In those sections, I would have page protectors with our birth certificates, important papers, etc. 

I'd also include a section for our vehicle info, HOA information, important things regarding our house, etc. I'll have to think of more things to include in this binder that would be family related. 

I'm up for ideas! 

The more I look at the Emergency Binder, the more I think I could just combine it with the Family Binder. That way, I can put all of our doctors, dentists, etc under each of our sections.  

So, I really only need to buy 3 of these binders. 

This is going to be one of my first projects this year. That, and getting my dad to install shelves in my office. I need space up high to store important documents so my curious 1 year old doesn't get them and rip them to pieces, as he has done so much of my other documents. 

Anyone have any thoughts? 

*****Edit. I have gotten so many questions asking about the budget I made and the sheets I use, so I made an Etsy store to sell them!

 

Blessing's Printables

 

Happy savings!