New Shift
Well, Toby finally got to start on his new shift schedule. He started it last week and had the whole week off. Yay! It was so nice to have him home and helping out with the girls. He just started his 14 days on yesterday. He is working the night shift right now (5pm-5am), so he doesn't get home until about 6am. It is a tough schedule, but in two weeks he'll be off again for a week. I definitely look forward to that. I think I am still trying to adjust to his crazy work schedule and not getting to see him very often, but I try to remember what a great blessing it is for us to have this job. Getting out of debt is not going quite as quickly as we had hoped it would, but we are definitely working on it. We've had some unexpected purchases that have need to be done, so it set us back a little bit on paying off debt. However, we are still doing just fine.
Like so many others, we are working on finding the balance between what we need and what we want and prioritizing all our purchases. It was almost easier when we had less money because we knew that we only had so much money for everything. Now, we are having to be more strick with our budget and how much we spend on everything. It is so easy to just go to the store and say, "Oh, this looks good, and it's only X amount of dollars; we can afford this." I'm becoming more aware of our situation and how important it is to get out of debt, so I am trying to concentrate on getting to that point.
We have decided that we will probably be living in Texas for at least 5 years. Honestly, I was hoping that it wouldn't be that long, but that is what we feel like we need to do. Toby is really enjoying his job and loves that we are saving money in a 401K. He is also currently looking into other ways to invest our money once we get out of debt. We have also started looking into 529 Education Savings plans for the kids because we would really like to be able to do that as well. Toby also mentioned today that he is thinking about trading in our Sonata for a Prius. He is thinking that the payments will be similar or maybe a little more, but the gas mileage is about double. Since gas prices are probably not going down any time within the next few years, that will be a great investment for us. So, that is an option we're looking into. I'm kind of hesitant about it just because I've really gotten attached to the Sonata since it was our first new car and we have gone on some great trips in it. But, I know that if we need to get a different car in order to save money on gas, that is what we'll do.
Mya is doing very well. She is continuing to talk like crazy and is learning so much. She has started to use her potty seat more often and is actually going potty on it, not just sitting there. I think it will still be awhile before she is potty trained, but she is definitely working on it. And, the great part about it is that she hasn't lost interest in it--she wants to go every time Mommy or Daddy go. I think if i start working with her more consistently then she will get better at it.
I and the baby are also doing well. The baby has been moving quite frequently the past few days. I have another appointment tomorrow morning and will also be doing my second and final session of one of the pregnancy studies I'm participating in. I have actually been having some practice contractions in the past three or so weeks. I don't get them very often and most of the time they aren't very strong, but I rarely had them with Mya. This whole pregnancy has been very different that it was with Mya. I'm even beginning to think that this baby may come a little early. However, that could be just wishful thinking since Toby has the week off before our due date, and I would like him to be home and able to stay with us for a few days. I guess we'll see what is in store for us in the coming weeks. We will definitely keep you posted. :)
I have the next 4 weeks off (from watching Britni and Kelli), so I am hoping to get things all ready for the baby and get the rest of the summer planned for the girls. We'll see if it actually works out that way since I have been getting more and more tired lately with the final stages of this pregnancy. I hope I have enough energy to get at least the most important things accomplished. Wish me luck! ;)
Like so many others, we are working on finding the balance between what we need and what we want and prioritizing all our purchases. It was almost easier when we had less money because we knew that we only had so much money for everything. Now, we are having to be more strick with our budget and how much we spend on everything. It is so easy to just go to the store and say, "Oh, this looks good, and it's only X amount of dollars; we can afford this." I'm becoming more aware of our situation and how important it is to get out of debt, so I am trying to concentrate on getting to that point.
We have decided that we will probably be living in Texas for at least 5 years. Honestly, I was hoping that it wouldn't be that long, but that is what we feel like we need to do. Toby is really enjoying his job and loves that we are saving money in a 401K. He is also currently looking into other ways to invest our money once we get out of debt. We have also started looking into 529 Education Savings plans for the kids because we would really like to be able to do that as well. Toby also mentioned today that he is thinking about trading in our Sonata for a Prius. He is thinking that the payments will be similar or maybe a little more, but the gas mileage is about double. Since gas prices are probably not going down any time within the next few years, that will be a great investment for us. So, that is an option we're looking into. I'm kind of hesitant about it just because I've really gotten attached to the Sonata since it was our first new car and we have gone on some great trips in it. But, I know that if we need to get a different car in order to save money on gas, that is what we'll do.
Mya is doing very well. She is continuing to talk like crazy and is learning so much. She has started to use her potty seat more often and is actually going potty on it, not just sitting there. I think it will still be awhile before she is potty trained, but she is definitely working on it. And, the great part about it is that she hasn't lost interest in it--she wants to go every time Mommy or Daddy go. I think if i start working with her more consistently then she will get better at it.
I and the baby are also doing well. The baby has been moving quite frequently the past few days. I have another appointment tomorrow morning and will also be doing my second and final session of one of the pregnancy studies I'm participating in. I have actually been having some practice contractions in the past three or so weeks. I don't get them very often and most of the time they aren't very strong, but I rarely had them with Mya. This whole pregnancy has been very different that it was with Mya. I'm even beginning to think that this baby may come a little early. However, that could be just wishful thinking since Toby has the week off before our due date, and I would like him to be home and able to stay with us for a few days. I guess we'll see what is in store for us in the coming weeks. We will definitely keep you posted. :)
I have the next 4 weeks off (from watching Britni and Kelli), so I am hoping to get things all ready for the baby and get the rest of the summer planned for the girls. We'll see if it actually works out that way since I have been getting more and more tired lately with the final stages of this pregnancy. I hope I have enough energy to get at least the most important things accomplished. Wish me luck! ;)
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