Husband has been on a much needed week of vacation this week. Since we don't have a lot of money (working on getting out of debt completely, and saving for a bigger house), and we have a newborn, we decided to do local things this week. We have been having so much fun!
He worked Saturday until 3pm, and then we booted it up to his parents house for dinner and a quick swim in the pool. His sister and her 3 kids were there, and Miss P had a blast swimming with them. She loves her cousins. Hubby and I took turns in the pool with Miss P, while the other looked after a very content/sleepy Little C.
Sunday we did some things around the house and then went to his parents house for dinner and a swim again. His sister and her kids were there again. It was great. Grandma watched Little C for a bit so we could both go in the pool together.
Monday we went to visit friends in another town, that we haven't really visited with since Christmas (aside from kids' birthday parties)! I grew up with her (our Moms were pregnant with us at the same time), and we have daughters the same age. They also have a son, who is 15 months older than Little C. So they are also a Millionaire's Family! It was so nice to see them. We took the kids to a splash pad where they played for an hour or so, then back to their house for lunch and some swimming in the very cold pool. Then the girls spent the afternoon playing in the backyard. They were so cute together, and sassy sometimes. You could tell how they are going to be as teen agers! Little C slept in his bouncy seat in the shade most of the afternoon. We left around 4:30pm and Miss P was asleep by the time we got to the top of the street! LOL.
Tuesday we spent around the house getting much-needed errands done. We were supposed to go out but had to take our cat to the vet unexpectedly and that threw a wrench in the plans for the day (as well as the finances!). She is okay now though.
Today, we went to a local farm with my parents and brother. We took a little train ride around the farm (25 minutes long!) and then went and looked at the animals. It was kind of a waste of money - $40 for all of us, but Miss P had fun. Little C slept (once we got started - but when we first got there we had 2 diapers to change - one was a major poop-splosion, and a fairly long nursing session), of course! We were hot and disappointed with the farm (advertised as a petting zoo, but you couldn't touch the animals!), so we decided to go for ice cream down at the waterfront. We hadn't been there in years, and it has totally been revitalized! It is beautiful. Everyone should really be a tourist in their own city sometime - forget the bias you have about which areas are good and bad/wealthy and poor, and just visit the places in your city that sound interesting or people have recommended. It was so cool to find this gem!
Tomorrow we are visiting with family, and going to the beach for a picnic and some swimming. Since I am allergic to the cold, I can't do beach swimming, so I will be playing in the sand with Miss P, or relaxing in the shade with Little C.
Friday will be more around the house stuff, as well as swimming at hubby's parents again. Saturday he goes back to work (sigh), and Sunday we have a one-year-old's birthday party!
then 3 weeks later hubby is on vacation again! We have even more planned for those TWO WEEKS!
Wednesday 11 July 2012
On the Road to Financial Freedom
On our quest to acheive financial freedom (as in, no debt other than mortgage, and a down payment on a bigger house in a couple of years), we have decided that we will 'shop our house'. We want to redo some rooms/rearrange and reorganize. Instead of heading to Ikea to buy furniture (and I do love going to Ikea - they make small spaces seem so easy to live with), we have decided we are going to shop our basement to see if we already have what we need to make the spaces we are redoing work. Hey - when I was purging stuff for the garage sale I came across a dozen picture frames! Apparently, I kept buying and misplacing them, and going out to buy more. And none of them have been used! So, into the Christmas box they go (since I no longer need them - I eventually used ones I bought). Since I am on maternity leave and money is tighter, people will be getting a lot of homemade gifts (like preserves, art from the kids etc.), as well as framed family photos! LOL. Not only am I recycling, and purging, but I am saving money (well, I already spent it, but saving money from this year's Christmas budget)! Now that's awesome!
Post- Garage Sale
We had a fairly successful day, considering we didn't advertise much and we threw it together in a week. Our share was $65; in total, between three households, we made $150! We all have stuff left, and more in our homes to sell so we are doing it again in September - with better advertising. And we will hopefully get the neighbours involved so we can make it a street sale.
I am somewhat of a hoarder (not really, but I have a hard time throwing anything away that I might need), so it was hard to see some things go. But, it felt amazing to be purging. Our basement already looks so much better and I can't wait to get back there to go through the rest of it to find more items to sell! Once we have cleared out everything to sell, we can then get the basement organized (finally!).
Next items to sell: baby stuff. I have so many bins of kids clothing that no longer fit Miss P (15 bins, plus 2 vaccuum bags to be exact), plus all the stuff Little C will be outgrowing. I am having a hard time making a definitive decision as to whether or not we will have a third baby (my husband thinks we already made this decision and we are done - but I can't quite commit). However - I do love the idea of all this baby stuff being GONE! It is taking up so much living space (the swing, bouncy seat, high chair, pack n play, moses basket, play gym etc. - not to mention toys) and so much storage space in our tiny house. I can't wait to clear it all out.
I am on a declutter frenzy. We have a small house (less than 1000 sq ft) and with two kids, it is getting crowded fast. Yes, we will have to move, but No, we can't afford to right now. So, we are decluttering to make it feel bigger. And nothing clutters your house more than baby gear! LOL. So, for this reason (and financial reasons - I can't wait to be done paying daycare!) I am leaning towards being done with having babies. But, then I think - 'what if?'......which then leads me to thinking we should hold on to all the baby clothes and gear for a while just in case. I feel like I am not quite ready to close that door, but ready to be done with all the clutter!
I am somewhat of a hoarder (not really, but I have a hard time throwing anything away that I might need), so it was hard to see some things go. But, it felt amazing to be purging. Our basement already looks so much better and I can't wait to get back there to go through the rest of it to find more items to sell! Once we have cleared out everything to sell, we can then get the basement organized (finally!).
Next items to sell: baby stuff. I have so many bins of kids clothing that no longer fit Miss P (15 bins, plus 2 vaccuum bags to be exact), plus all the stuff Little C will be outgrowing. I am having a hard time making a definitive decision as to whether or not we will have a third baby (my husband thinks we already made this decision and we are done - but I can't quite commit). However - I do love the idea of all this baby stuff being GONE! It is taking up so much living space (the swing, bouncy seat, high chair, pack n play, moses basket, play gym etc. - not to mention toys) and so much storage space in our tiny house. I can't wait to clear it all out.
I am on a declutter frenzy. We have a small house (less than 1000 sq ft) and with two kids, it is getting crowded fast. Yes, we will have to move, but No, we can't afford to right now. So, we are decluttering to make it feel bigger. And nothing clutters your house more than baby gear! LOL. So, for this reason (and financial reasons - I can't wait to be done paying daycare!) I am leaning towards being done with having babies. But, then I think - 'what if?'......which then leads me to thinking we should hold on to all the baby clothes and gear for a while just in case. I feel like I am not quite ready to close that door, but ready to be done with all the clutter!
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