TGIF!

[wineandcheese]

It's the start of the weekend!!!

We are on our way up to the Finger Lakes to go wine tasting. Yay for wine! We need a relaxing weekend.

[luv2rn4fun]

SO jealous!! Have fun wineandcheese!

Yay for Friday!! Today is off to a good start! DH randomly decided he wanted to cuddle this morning just before the alarm went off (like this is really not normal for him these days so, although at first I was like "I just want a few minutes of sleep" since L had just been up to nurse, it was actually nice and worth the few minutes of sleep I lost)!

My friend from old city is coming some time today for a visit! Excited to see her! I cleaned the playroom and kitchen last night so need to vacuum this morning (and wash our bedding) before she comes.

C and DH are sick...C is really not feeling well but they are fighting the same cold. He was up a lot last night so today should be interesting. I am also worried L might be catching it because he coughed a few times while nursing which is weird for him MOTN.

My dad stopped by for a visit yesterday! Called and said he was in X city 25 min away and is it a good time? Do you want Starbucks? I said sure! He literally came, said Hi, handed me my coffee and then walked out the door with C to take him for a walk! They were gone about 20 min and I was able to get dinner made and some dishes done in peace (L was napping)! I seriously have the best dad...he owns his own business and is crazy busy after being gone on vacation but took the time because he wanted to see C but also knows I need more breaks and help with the boys. And, not only did he give me a break but he brought coffee too! Totally made my day yesterday!

Oh, and lots of movement on DH's job search. There are 3 jobs that different recruiters are going to submit his resume for interviews. One recruiter said he would feel like a failure if he didn't have DH a job within a month because there aren't many great candidates with his credentials. Very promising!

Hope everyone has a great day and weekend!!

[grover]

Today me, my FSIL and her mom are taking my MIL to get a mani pedi as she has requested one before the memorial tomorrow.

H and I are going to go pay a secret payment towards tomorrow's celebration (we'll tell her after the fact bc the owner will tell her, but if we tell her before we go she'd refuse to let us leave).

Tonight H wants to go for margaritas and fried ice cream at the local Mexican restaurant (after we eat the dinner that is scheduled to be dropped off for us tonight at the house) because that was his dad's favorite restaurant and where we all are together when we were all in town this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. H wants to treat everyone for this.

We also had a conversation on the car on our way back up here about possibly moving up here. It wouldn't happen for a minimum of 2 years, but we'll reevaluate it then and right now it's our tentative 2-5 year plan. I hate my current district, but love our house. I have to stay at my current job for two more school years in order to get 17k in student loan forgiveness. That will free us up to be able to move up here. The new town is also a muh smaller, lower cost of living, so without the student loans, we could afford for me to stay part home or even stay home all the time, if I come help MIL with some business things while home. The only concern H has with his idea is that baby girl won't have enough friends like she would growing up on our current block. (Class sizes in the small town are currently 13 kids per class at the high school level, with a total of 63 kids graduating this year.) My concern is only that course options and clubs and athletics are also limited, but there is the super close knit community feel. H said he'd definitely be for a second kid up in this area.

Basically, lots to think about. No decisions are being made right now, but it was prompted by his therapist asking if he planned to move closer with his dad passing. We'll continue our original plan of paying off cars and student loans as much as possible, getting the loan forgiveness, and then looking more in depth at our options.

[Blue Moon]

luv2rn4fun, so glad your dad was able to help and also that your H's job situation sounds very promising.
wineandcheese, jealous of your wine weekend, have fun!
grover, your MIL is lucky to have you and your H. I hope a move there is feasible to you guys in a few years.

I'm sooo glad it's Friday. This week has been brutal but I'm back into the groove with my new schedule. I need to go to a memorial service after work tonight because my boss's father passed away. I feel so anxious because I won't know anyone but I know it's not about me so I just need to suck it up. A few other coworkers are also going so maybe I'll see if we can walk in together. Other than that, not much is planned. I wanted to make some food to bring over to my SIL, BIL, and new nephew! He was born on Tuesday and is such a perfect little guy already. I'm so excited my little guy will have a cousin so close in age. B wanted nothing to do with him, but I'm sure she will come around.

[amaranth]

Yesterday was such a great day with lots accomplished and happy kids. Hoping to continue the trend today if possible. Would love to bake cookies. And then eat them all...

luv2rn4fun glad to read your good updates!

grover so much to think about, but I'm glad you can be there during this difficult time. I'm sure it means so much to his mom.

[amaranth]

Weird, there was a letter on our porch from a banker saying he has a client wishing to buy our house due to low inventory. He left his business card and other info. There are so many houses for sale in this city, and ours is big but not pretty on the outside. It seems like a scam.

[katespade]

amaranth - Yeah, that's really weird. I would definitely ignore it (if you weren't already planning to).

[pooh8402]

Feb 3, 2017 14:11:20 GMT -5 amaranth said:

Weird, there was a letter on our porch from a banker saying he has a client wishing to buy our house due to low inventory. He left his business card and other info. There are so many houses for sale in this city, and ours is big but not pretty on the outside. It seems like a scam.

I get those all the time. Just ignore. Now that I'm trying to sell my house, where the hell are all those people?

Speaking of, a realtor just texted at 1:14 saying she would be at my house in 15 minutes. I had laundry out, bed not made, and my school books and computer were all out. I asked for another 15 minutes. As I'm scrambling around, I saw her parked outside at 1:20. Dude. NOT 15 minutes! She texted me at that time to say no prob, they'll drive around.

I was out my own door at 1:28, and let her know the house was available and thanks for being patient.

But I was annoyed. She didn't ask to come in 15 minutes, she told me. And was there in less than.

[katespade]

H and I have made some big changes over the past week or so.

We've decided to focus on eating healthier. No soda, no takeout, less sugar, more protein... and it's actually going pretty well so far. We've used the grill almost every day since we got it, and stocked the house with better snack choices to replace the crap we usually eat.

At the same time, we've decided to go on a spending freeze. We sat down together on Wednesday, built our budget for the month, and now we're working to see if we can stick to it. Once we get our budget on track, we're going to start putting more money toward paying off some of our debt.

[grover]

ewall, it's just weird to us because we both had over 1000 students in each of our graduating classes.

[luv2rn4fun]

pooh8402- so annoying. I remember those days very vividly and it was very stressful trying to get the house in order with such short notice...and then to be told and for her to show up early on top of that...not cool. ((Hugs)) hope you get a good offer soon!

ewall- sorry for the rough week! Good for You for helping your DH so much tonight even though it's probably the last thing you feel up to doing...hope he appreciates it and pays it forward for you and the cycle continues!

We had a great day with my friend!! So great to see her and catch up! She is already planning to come out again next month during her spring break!

[awick14]

wineandcheese- I am so jealous of all your wine tasting with your H. DH hates wine so he won't go tasting with me.

FX that your H finds something soon luv2rn4fun!!

grover- I agree with staying there for the 2 years $17K is a lot of money to forgive.

amaranth- I would ignore the letter for sure!

pooh8402- I hope she gives more notice in the future.

[awick14]

I need to do a spending freeze too katespade- but urg it's hard while your doing renos. I think as soon as the renos are done we will be going on a spending freeze.

I've been getting back to the gym this week and it's been awesome! I've gone twice this week and I'm debating going tonight. If I don't go to the gym I might do a run on the treadmill. (It's still at our house, we haven't brought it to the ILs yet.)

[katespade]

awick14 - Ours isn't a total spending freeze, because we wrote spending money into our budget. The key for us is not going beyond the amount we've budgeted.

We included small amounts for categories like misc spending, home improvement/renovation, dining out, and personal care. We're hoping that by giving ourselves a little bit of money to spend, we won't feel like we're missing out by making good spending choices.

[rockinrobyn]

I am so thankful that this week is over!!!
Got good news on our car today. Something was wrong with the fuel pump and sensor so we ran out of gas, no major engine problems. Thank goodness!
I am ready for a drink and my mom to take over parenting duties for a few days!

[katespade]

rockinrobyn - That's great news! Thank goodness it's a quick and easy fix! I had that happen on a car once and I think it was like a $10 part.

[bk1]

wineandcheese Have an awesome weekend! Sounds like so much fun!

luv2rn4fun So glad you got a break and that the job search is going well! 

grover Big hugs. You and your H are good people. And I went to a small school. I left a bigger school system to go to the smaller one. It was a much better fit for me. Small schools can be good.

katespade GL with all the positive changes! We need to be on a complete spending freeze. We have backed off a lot but could be doing better.

pooh8402 Ugh I would be so pissed about that! 15 minutes is NOT enough time! Let alone showing up early.

rockinrobyn Great news!!



Girls haven't been sleeping great the last few days. That combined with being crazy busy had DH and I completely worn out. Looking forward to G's party tomorrow... and for it to be over. I need some REST. At least I have a clean house so that is a nice perk. 

[luv2rn4fun]

Have fun tomorrow bk1!! Hope it goes well and prayers the girls start sleeping well again and you can get some rest!