Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Friday, November 16, 2012

Financial Friday

We are making slow progress on our debt. As of today we are 5.5% less in debt. We still have a long way to go but are motivated and eager to be out of debt and have better credit scores. Not only do we hope to own a home but I hope my credit will reflect who I am. I guess right now it does, I have let nearly every aspect of my life go because I felt so bad about myself but I'm making changes in every area and already feel so much better and like I can do this! So as time goes on, that debt will go down, credit will go up and it will properly reflect who I am, or who I want to be!

We are going to meet with a credit counselor and hopefully have some help and advice on what we need to do to own our own home. Hopefully we get good news, or at least encouragement, instead of bad news that could potentially keep us from owning a home for several more years. Let's try to keep positive though!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thirsty Thursday

I only made two smoothies this past week, one had kale, green grapes and banana and was really good. The other one had kale, banana, cucumber, green grapes, celery and some apple in it. It was a bit thick for my taste and if I try that again will probably remove some of the pulp.




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Time to Trim Tuesday

This week I'm trying to make small changes. I've been doing workouts every other day as I get a chance. Running in place, squats, lunges, crunches, jumping jacks, knee highs, push ups and jumping squats. I need to start doing everything every day and I'm going to start doing some workouts using dance and sports games on the PS3 and zumba.

My eating was pretty bad this week.... I really need to go on a reduced carb diet for my PCOS and with being gluten free it should be fairly easy but I'm struggling to give up my goodies. I need to remind myself that those things are spossed to be treats, not every thing I eat.

So this week I'm going to work on eating better and on a schedule. Drinking a gallon of water everyday. Working out everyday, getting out of the house every other day and going for a walk as weather allows. I have a coat ordered that will make it so I can carry Carter in the Beco in cold weather and both of us will be warm and dry.

In line with that, we are looking at adding a small dog to our family (I know my last post said not until we buy a house but that may be further off then we hoped and Carter needs a dog in his life.) So I'll have a need to walk the little guy everyday.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Milestones - 11/12/2012

Carter's nearly 15 months old already! This week he started some adorable things and saying awesome words.


1) He points to the picture of him and my mom on the wall and says "Mema"

2) He will squat down and then jump up and run

3) He likes to squat a little bit and pivot on his foot and turn in circles

4) He loves to run in circles laughing

5) He's started doing the hand signals for "Skinnymarrinkydinkydink"


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Overhaul

I'm going to be changing things up around here. I haven't been feeling really inspired to blog and I feel like it's a great way for me to look back and remember what life was like at this point in time, the challenges, the milestones, the amazing, all of it. I want to document it.

Monday I started on a new journey for me. I'm calling it "Time to Trim", an overhaul on my life habits,eating habits, exercise habits, outlook, etc. So I'm going to have a theme for everyday of the week to help motivate me to post and also plan to post on other things as they come up.

I'm going to be overhauling the dog blog as well, even though we're currently dogless. We are hoping to get out of debt, simultaneously build our credit and buy a house hopefully within the year.

I'm still working on the names and idea behind each day. So far I have:

Milestone Monday - Document new milestones Carter reaches as he reaches them and some pictures of him.

Trimming Tuesday - My weigh in for the week and how I'm doing on my plan, what exercises I did thoughout the week and any stumbles I had and ways I can improve.

Wordless Wednesday - Picture or pictures with no words, will probably be of Carter.

Thirsty Thursday - I've started drinking green smoothies and making Carter homemade juice and would like to document what works, what doesn't, what we all like and don't like and the nutritional benefits of each smoothie.

Financial Friday - What steps we've taken to reach our financial goals and what we have planned for the next week.

Saturday and Sunday will be free days to write about what I like. Celebrate life and an overview of how I did the past week and what I hope to accomplish the coming week. I will try to be open but not too open, a balance I've struggled with in the past.


Time to Trim: My goal is to control my PCOS with my diet and exercise, lose weight, be more active and feel better about myself in my skin. I want to be able to go to the park and run with my son, meet whatever dog we get's activity level with exercise, feel good about my body and actually look pregnant with my next pregnancy(ies). I want to be able to have a body that leads to effective labor and delivery and that will allow me to better reach my goal of having a natural med-free birth for the next baby. My goal is to lose 75 pounds, overall. Depending on when our next pregnancy occurs, it will likely not be a direct path but that's what I would like to reach.

Financial Goals: We have a substantial amount of debt, including medical expenses and student loans. Our student loans will not be included in my measurements but we will be paying on them (even though we're still in school) to help build our credit and lower our debt to income ratio. I will not be posting amounts but will be posting percentages. So if we pay off X amount of dollars in debt for that week, I will calculate the percentage of debt and add it up for an overall total. We hope to buy a home and I would love to one day be a breeder keeper and raise litters for the first 8 weeks for Canine Angels. Max would like a doberman so that's what I'm planning on being our "homeowner dog" since we can't have one in our apartment. We are not planning on getting a dog before that unless it is a service dog in training. So financially we hope to do the following:

  1. Get out of debt
  2. Improve our credit
  3. Have a 3 month emergency fund in savings
  4. Have a down payment in savings
  5. Buy a home
  6. Have 12 months worth of emergency funds in savings
  7. Pay off student loans
Other goals: I hope to graduate (finally) and work from home if that's a desire or need at that time.I hope to have a learning activity for Carter everyday that will turn into his school time as he gets older. I hope to have an active role in our congregation and make some good, long term friends down here. This is all going to take a lot of work and fighting my nature of being at home and shy.



He's Growing Up

Carter is starting to get big and everyday is learning new things. It's such a fun fun time but so exhausting too. He's wonderful although he certainly has his challenges.

*He thought the cat needed to get dressed so he was putting shirts on his. Elijah would play with them and Carter would laugh that sweet, bubbly baby laugh.*

Walking: He started walking when he was 12 months old. Now at 14.5 months he's a crazy kid, running and trying to jump and climb and wants to walk everywhere by himself. The only issue is he doesn't really like going where we're going, he wants to go see all the fun things and climb up and down stairs and the like. He's really good about holding my hand at this point but we're working on going where Mommy wants instead of baby.

*Enjoying some frozen yogurt with Daddy*

Talking: This child talks  a lot. He loves to talk and say new words. I think I've counted 25+ words he's said but he uses probably 15-20 on a regular basis. He still uses sign language and just learned three new signs, on top of milk. I think my favorite word to hear him say is "outside." It's so cute!

*Elijah loves him, Carter was sitting on the couch and Lijah jumped up and laid in front of him so Carter laid down to cuddle.*

Outside: Carter LOVES to play outside! I try and get him out of the house everyday but with the rain starting it's proving to be more difficult. I think we may get a membership to an indoor play/learning center for the winter months.

*Playing with the mist from his humidifier*

Favorites: He loves the cat, dogs, to take baths, to play "dress up", to put lids on containers, put things in containers, music, he absolutely loves music and to sing and dance. He loves books and will sit and read to himself.

Other updates: He's learned that if he wants something he just picks up whatever it is and shoves it in my lap, i.e. his sippy cup if he wants a drink, a book if he wants to read a story, shoes if he wants to go "bye bye", etc.

Challenges: Sleep is still a major challenge. He's sleeping well in his crib but it's tough to get him to sleep for naps and bed time. He doesn't normally nurse to sleep anymore but he will eventually just come ask for some cuddles and will fall asleep cuddled up to me.

*His RoSK blanket came in and he wanted to play with it. This blanket is amazing, waterproof on one side and soft and plush on the other. Works for the carrier, stroller, his little bike, playing on wet grass, nursing cover and as a normal blanket.*

Another major challenge is the tantrums, they are much worse when he's tired. He learned to hit, I think from splashing in the tub, I'm not sure really, and will hit and bite and scream if he's tired and wants something and I tell him no or just don't get it fast enough. He goes in timeout after I explain to him why, sits there for a minute and then gets to get up and give me a hug and say "sorry". He's said it once but I don't wait for him to say it every time since it doesn't count as an actual word yet since he just repeated it. I hope this is just a phase he's going through and will be over soon.

Overall this is a fun, exciting age. He learns something new everyday, is full of curiosity and trouble. He is such a fun little boy, full of energy and life and love. He gives the best hugs and kisses, he wraps his little arms around my neck, puts his head on my shoulder and runs his hands through my hair.

I honestly love being this little boys mommy so much. He lights up my life and makes it so much brighter and fuller!

*He wanted to jump in Blake's jumperoo!*