It's been a bit over two months since DH lost his leg due to the aneurism. It's been a LOOOOOONG two months. But, he's driving again, easing back into work (about 16 hours per week), doing a ton of PT and has been working with the prosthetics doctor on his starter leg. They've cast that and are in the process of creating his first leg and we hope he's up on it in another week (though, learning to use it will be quite a process).
Things with the kids have been a challenge. Our 4 year old was
Hi All,
I need a kick in the kiester. We've been doing DR for 7 years and for the past year we've been floundering. We're NOT back in debt, we still have 6 months of EF and are contributing to the 401K, but we did not contribute to ROTHs lasts year and have contributed minimal to the 529 funds. We have not paid down BS6 at all. We just booked a vacation to Disney World and I think that was the eye opener with how far off the wagon we've fallen. This month we have DS's baptism, DS's first bir
We had our update meeting with our financial planner today. It was incredibly helpful, but a HUGE reality check.
First, we're still debt free with about 3 months in the EF. We need to get back up to 6 months EF for our security gland.
Second, we're on target minus a couple of hundred per month for retirement savings. We need to cut some budget items to get up to where we want to be with that. We're trying to save for retirement based upon our current spending plus inflation.
Third, g
So, after several months of not doing budgets because life was so in flux between selling a house, buying the house, moving and having the baby, we finally created our budget for August and September.
Talk about budget creep!!! We HAVE to batten down the hatches! This is ridiculous. All the discretionary categories are SO much higher than they used to be and I found myself mentally going "wait! we can't possibly cut THAT!". Ie: having normal person thoughts. Then, I had to stop and take anot
Well... our son is now 3.5 weeks old, and we're quickly approaching his actual due date. The thing that is cracking me up is that he looks SO much like his sister - our first child - who was 7lbs 6oz when she was born. I think he's pretty close to that weight now. I didn't see it until he started getting some meat on his bones.
Otherwise, we've just been settling in with the kids and getting the house unpacked. I had NO idea how much junk we have. We took 6 large boxes to Goodwill yesterday
We've been in the house for a week and a half and it definitely feels like home now. The kids are settling in. The baby is thriving. And, my parents have moved up (which is a whole other kettle of fish). Things are humming along at this juncture.
We're still largely in boxes (as I'm sure you can imagine, nursing every 2 hours is not condusive to getting things unpacked quickly), but the kids' rooms are unpacked as is the kitchen thanks to my AMAZING friends. I honestly don't know what I woul
I'll post the whole kit and kaboodle later, but suffice it to say, things changed this weekend.
First, we moved in - it was in the high 90s without A/C. My amazing friends literally unpacked our entire house because....
We had the baby!!! 36 weeks along exactly and he is healthy as can be.
6lbs 6oz, 19 inches. I'll post a photo as soon as I can figure out how to do it from my phone.
He decided Monday that he wanted to come out and was born 13 min after getting to the hospital.
So, I had the duct cleaning guy out today - he cleaned our ducts beautifully. Then he came into the house and said, "Ma'am, I have some bad news. You need to come out to the garage for a minute." He then proceeded to show me how the ducts under the furnace were completely rusted out. 100% completely. He said absolutely do NOT use the furnace or the A/C until the duct has been replaced. Its a closed system so the inspector couldn't have caught it.
We have a home warrenty that came with the sa
It's been 9 years since the last time we moved and we had nothing when we moved. Literally, a few box of kitchen goods, our fine china, a couple of bean bag chairs and a queen size bed. That was all. It was a 1 uhaul with a few friends proposition. Now, this time, given I'm 35 weeks pregnant, its a whole different story.
So, this is what we have lined up over the next week, and of course it all costs money. It's worth it, but EXPENSIVE!!!
Todsy the HVAC guys are coming to service the A/C
So, some of you may remember that we've been fighting with our insurance company concerning DD's speech therapy. Her speech therapist has resubmitted using different codes, so hopefully that will get taken care of in the next few weeks. BUT, the issue causing the speech issue is actually a congenital issue with her jaw development. Basically, she has a cross bite that has hindered jaw growth and development. So, at the age of barely 5, DD got her first orthotropics (a type of orthodontic) applia
So we signed papers on Wednesday and kind of hit the ground running with the house. A friend of mine is an interior designer and she and I got together on Thursday to select paint colors for the interior. The painters start on Monday. We had pest control come out and spray everything today, set mouse traps and seal some areas under the house that were problematic, knock out some wasps nests and spray the foundation around the house. We had the handyman over yesterday to do some wall patches so t
Today, at 10am we go to the Title company and sign papers on our new house and have the money wired from our account to the Title Company. Then, at 5pm we get our keys to the house.
Tomorrow I meet with the handyman to have some holes in the drywall repaired (where their A/V equipment came through the walls and where an older computer system were wired into the wall, and then I meet with the woman who has sold us blinds in the past (just for the kids rooms) so I can have the kids' windows me
Okay, this is going to be a bit of a saga.
My ILs are 80. Their will is 30+ years old (DH's aunt and uncle still get custody of DH if they pass... LOL...kind of). A lot has changed for them financially since it was written, including some ugly family dynamics, as have the property laws and laws of succession in our state. FIL is having heart issues and DH is starting to lean on them to get an estate plan in place. For some reason my FIL balks at dealing with this issue head on. At this stage
So, the appraiser FINALLY came out and appraised the house yesterday. Report came back today and it came in $20K lower than our agreed upon price.
Our realtor suggested we try to renegotiate with the sellers, so we're submitting an addendum to the offer at the appraised price along with a copy of the appraisal.
Honestly, I feel funny about it. I feel like I'm trying to cheat them out of money that is rightfully theirs. This house will EASILY sell despite appraisal for what we offered on
Okay ladies (and gentlemen, but I'm guessing there won't be any male interest in this topic). I'm 32 weeks pregnant and have a VERY strong desire to nest right now. I mean, I desperately want to nest. But, we're moving in 3 weeks. I've bought a couple of packs of binkies, Desitin and baby soap and lotion (the only disposable items we really need for the first weeks). I've rounded up all my gear (it's in storage) and am having DH pull out the crate of infant boy clothes this weekend so I can star
In the 6 years we've been doing the Dave Ramsey program, never have we fallen off the wagon. We've been meticulous about our finances. And, we've totally dropped the ball the past month and it's going to cost us thousands.
I thought DH locked our mortgage rate last week. He thought I locked it. Mortgage rates in our area, in the span of one week went up from 3.65 to 4.0. He's been on the road, and I've been exhausted, and somehow we got our signals crossed and he thought I'd made the call to
So, when we agreed to use our realtor as our buyers agent, we signed a contract stating that he would get paid 2.5% of the sales price of the house. Fine. That's fair.
Well... here's our situation. We are buying a FSBO. I sourced the house - like pounded the pavement, got a lead on the house before it hit the market from a neighbor, made contact with the sellers, talked to the sellers and got us into the house for a look-see. We decided we wanted to make an offer on the house.
DH discuss
There is only one thing about the new house DH and I are unequivocally NOT fans of. It has a hot tub located in a structure in the back yard. A big hot tub. We're not hot tub people at all (like, we use them MAYBE once per year at a hotel for 5 min). We don't want the hassle of maintaining something we never use, the safety hazard of it or the cost of heating it.
So, how do we get rid of it? I have no idea who I'd call other than an electrician to cap the electrical.
Ideally, I'd love to
Well... the home inspection and the sewer inspection start in about 2 hours. We locked our mortgage rate yesterday and the appraisal has been ordered. I'll keep you all posted about the inspection. I feel good about this, though. I just feel peace. God lead us to this house and I feel like its all coming together.
I found out yesterday while dropping some items off for DD's preschool's rummage sale (right before she had an epic meltdown, which is rare for her) that there is a 5 year old girl
No negotiations. No hassle. We got the house.DH got the call from our realtor a couple of hours ago. I'm just waiting for a call from him saying he's back in the office so I can drop off a check for the earnest money.
We should be in a solid 5 weeks before my due date! Hurrah!!!
The offer will be submitted tomorrow to the sellers of a house we both love. The house is empty as the sellers have already moved into the new house they built, and it has been updated throughout. Price-wise, its right on target...
Please pray for us that the sellers are willing to negotiate and that they accept our offer during one of the first couple of rounds of negotiations. It would mean we could have inspections done next week and appraisal by the end of next week, which would mean we
Dh and I are both feeling the name Quinn Thomas for this little boy. But, someone brought to my attention recently that it has made the cross over into girls name territory similarly to Taylor, Morgan, etc... Personally, I've never heard it on a little girl, but apparently one of the lead characters on Glee is named Quinn, so there is a pop culture reference.
So, here is my question for you all. Which one do you prefer and why?
Quinn Thomas M----n
Quincy Thomas M----n (Quin as a nn)
DS decided today that he wanted to pee pee in the potty. So he did. Then, he decided this afternoon that he wanted to poo poo in the potty. So he did.
We had a little celebration each time, full on with a contraband M&M to bolster his resolve. He's very responsive to little awards like that. And, we pulled out his brand new big boy underpants and he's VERY excited about his doggy underpants. LOL.
Tomorrow we have a packed day between church, 5 year photos for DD, and visiting the ILs
There is this house we both fell in love with. It is PERFECT for our family. I mean, I walked inside and it is truly PERFECT. Both DH and I felt like it is home. The lot is perfect. Everything is perfect about it... except it is a short sale and it is the tip top of our budget. And, they have a full priced offer so we would have to put in an above asking price (which is already above appraisal by $10K) offer.
So, last night, in making the decision to put an offer in, we sat down with our bud
I posted this on FB yesterday, and would love to open it up here as well. I'm 26 weeks and we've barely discussed baby names for this baby boy. Between the move and keeping up with the other two, it just hasn't been a priority. So, I'd love your boy name ideas.
last name is a super common 2 syllabal name ending in -in.
Thank you so much!!!
