Hitting Mini-Goal #1.

-image-

I am so excited to share my weight loss progress.

I know this isn't a lot but it sure puts a nice dent in the amount I have left to go before reaching a healthy weight. Which would be another 65 pounds. 

The amount I lost, you ask? Eleven pounds. 

What has me so excited is that I've officially managed to cross of my first mini-goal on my chart. Every 10 pounds equals a mini goal. Sure that's a lot of mini goals. But it's really a good way to motivate ones self.

And trust me...I am needing a lot of motivation these days!

I'm not going to lie and say that losing these 11 pounds was easy...because it wasn't. But I will tell you the truth when I say...I definitely look better with those 11 pounds gone!

Soon, I'll be hitting my second mini-goal. Just 9 more pounds to go!

When I look ahead at the finish line I really have to smile. Not only will I finally be a healthier, happier (because let's be honest everyone is happier when their clothes actually fit), and fitter me. But I'll finally be able to be the example I want to be for my children. I'll actually be able to do fun activities with them without gasping for breath. 

And my husband will also benefit. No more having to deal with a moody, on the war-path because her clothes don't fit, crying wife.

Yep. 

It's a Win-Win all around for this family!

Saving Money The Second Hand Way.

- google image-

Busy Busy.

That seems to be the only thing we know around here. But we also occasionally know how to do something that we enjoy. 

In my case...attending one of two huge children's second hand sales. I love that you can find amazing items at unbelievably low prices. Of course you have to really search for them as well. 

The biggest plus about attending and buying stuff from a second hand sale is the amount of money you save. Seriously, A LOT of money gets saved this way. If I had gone to even the cheapest store and bought all these items new...well let's just say there would have been a seriously big dent in our bank account. BUT by buying them second hand, I saved us a nice bundle of money. Actually, I spent $40 on the shoes for older children, and then $10 on the bench with toy chest, another $4 on the blanket, and $15 for the clothes. Now don't be fooled by the 8 articles of clothes pictured here. I bought two BIG bags of clothes for a total of $15. I just really did not want to upload so many clothing pictures to my computer. So, my purchases came to a total of $79. Still a whole lot cheaper than if I had bought everything new.

As you remember I mentioned we're working on saving money, and I did some serious saving by shopping at this sale. And to be completely honest a lot of the things I bought were either super gently used or new. Yes, that's right you can even find new things at these sales! Children grow really fast so sometimes things don't get a chance to be worn no matter how cute they are. Which is another reason I bought some of my boys clothing from here. They are growing so fast and I would get really frustrated to spend a lot of money on new things only to have to pack them away because they never got worn. This way even if the things don't get a chance to be worn at least I didn't spend a lot on them.

Last Saturday the sale happened and even though I didn't feel to great and the boys were cranky from having to wake up so early; I made sure we were all bundled into the car by 7:30 and present at the sale by 8:00.

I ended up leaving the boys with my dad in the car. Why? Because both my little ones fell asleep on the drive there and my dad said he wasn't feeling up to shopping. It was the first time in a REALLY really REALLY long time that I did anything without my boys. And it was GREAT!! I had so much fun being able to browse and search through 50 different sales tables without anyone crying, screaming, or refusing to cooperate. There was no one yelling or throwing a tantrum and after a year and 7 months...I needed those 2 hours of COMPLETE alone time!!

I did end up going to the car two various times to check on my little ones though...and on my dad. It was nice seeing them sleep so peacefully and it was nice having some time to myself. 

The biggest plus about attending and buying stuff from a second hand sale is the amount of money you save. Seriously, A LOT of money gets saved this way. If I had gone to even the cheapest store and bought all these items new...well let's just say there would have been a seriously big dent in our bank account. BUT by buying them second hand, I saved us a nice bundle of money. Actually, I spent $40 on the shoes for older children, and then $10 on the bench with toy chest, another $4 on the blanket, and $15 for the clothes. Now don't be fooled by the 8 articles of clothes pictured here. I bought two BIG bags of clothes for a total of $15. I just really did not want to upload so many clothing pictures to my computer. So, my purchases came to a total of $79. Still a whole lot cheaper than if I had bought everything new.


As you remember I mentioned we're working on saving money, and I did some serious saving by shopping at this sale. And to be completely honest a lot of the things I bought were either super gently used or new. Yes, that's right you can even find new things at these sales! Children grow really fast so sometimes things don't get a chance to be worn no matter how cute they are. Which is another reason I bought some of my boys clothing from here. They are growing so fast and I would get really frustrated to spend a lot of money on new things only to have to pack them away because they never got worn. This way even if the things don't get a chance to be worn at least I didn't spend a lot on them.

Anyways, we're back to our regular schedule. And my dad has gone back home. Which means the boys are all mine and mine alone. Well, except when Hubby shows up after work and spends the evening creating all sorts of fun chaos, I love seeing the boys climb all over their dad in their excitement to play with him. And let's be honest Hubby loves playing with them just as much. 

Below are a few pictures of some of our finds...

Working To Save.

-image-

This year EverydayMommy Headquarters has decided to focus on saving money.

We noticed that in the last couple of years we've been struggling to put money aside because so many things had been going on. Which is normal and most families around the globe have trouble with this as well. More money going out than coming in. 

Which is why we decided to try to focus on saving money in the year 2016. Just like everyone else we have bills to pay, bank loans to pay back, groceries to buy, and much more that needs to be covered before we can actually put money aside. After much consideration and talking things over with Hubby, I started using Pinterest to my advantage. I love that everything and anything can be found there and that's why I turned to it to help me find an easy and affordable way to save a small amount of money each month.

Enter chart : 

-image link-

Hubby loved this idea but was really skeptical that we could actually pull this off. So, he asked me to give it a go and at the end of the year let him know how much I had saved up. So far it's working great. 

Each month, right at the beginning, I take out our BILLS TO PAY binder and grab my purse and head to the bank. Once, I payed all the bills I went ahead and added another category to my binder. Say hello binder to MONTHLY SAVINGS tab. 

I realized it would be much easier to set money aside if I right off the bat treated our challenge to save money like a bill that needed to be payed. After setting up an account, it's been working like a charm. Now I realize we're not that far into the year and it's going to get tougher each month to set aside the required sum. But my plan is to split up the expense so that I'll pay a half at the beginning of the month and a half at the end. That way there is a bit of time between so we can draw a breath before setting more money aside. But that's my plan for the months towards the end of the year. For now everything gets set aside right at the beginning.

Another thing we're doing is saving up our "small change". 

Yep, that's right. We're going at this with 100% dedication. We've jumped in with both feet.

Enter Second Chart: 

-image link-

At the end of the day, the boys and I raid Hubby's and my wallet and count out the required change. Then we quickly let it plunk coin by coin into our savings jar. The boys love hearing the coins fall into the jar (almost as much as mommy!) and Baby J. loves being able to toss the coins in. Sadly, Baby VP is still a little too small to partake in this new routine.

I figured if we're going to challenge ourselves using big money let's challenge ourselves using our leftover change as well. The great thing is if we don't make it one day we have until the end of the row to get it all in. That's my ultimatum. Each row has to be crossed off by the required day. And if it so happens that we can cross off a few extra days too...well...way to go us!!

I love pinterest and now I love saving money too!

Giving This Cold One More Go...

-image-

Unfortunately, my little boys have been sick this week. It started with a simple runny nose for the both of them and has progressed into the beginnings of bronchitis.

We ended up going to the hospital on Wednesday because Baby J. was having trouble breathing and his heart was beating something fierce. Also, little Baby VP was coughing like there was no tomorrow and throwing up phlegm. At least he's managing to get it out of his system.

Anyways, after our visit there both my babies were diagnosed with the beginnings of bronchitis and Baby VP was also labeled with "just a virus" on top of that. We were given an inhaler, nasal spray, baby Tylenol and told to make sure they get lots of fluids and rest.

Tomorrow we're heading back to the hospital for a check-up. But I'm sure this time will be better news. My boys have both stopped coughing like their going to expel their lungs. And they have been fever free for the last 6 hours. Also, no more vomiting on Baby VP's part. 

I'm so glad things are starting to look up. Hoping for good news and that we get the all clear on not needing to use the inhaler anymore. The boys hate that thing and I don't like all the whining and crying each time I have to use it on them.

Well, that's were we're at right now.