H54F

High five for Friday!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!

1. Lots if puppet shows happening at the Smith House as of late. 

2. I love that these two are so close. 

3. Birchbox. Nuf said!!!

4. Looking at travel items means we're getting closer to CRUISE TIME!!

5. Thank goodness the artistic side of our family is not lost. Emma and her beautiful drawing. 

Have a great day!!!

H54F

It's that time of the week again!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

1. Love taking walks in the neighborhood!

2. Deodorant wipes??? Um. Yes. 

3. Blanket tents are the best!

4.  Air popped popcorn in our Jammies!!!

5.  Sleeping babies. 

Have a great weekend!!!

H54F

1.  LOVE shopping with my family.  And LOVE that this guy is dating my sister!  What a trooper

2.  This is what happens when KA lets her hair air dry.  (Yes I am speaking about myself in the 3rd person)

3.  How can you not love this little guy?  

4.  The art of a 5 year old boy.  How can we forget about the art of a 5 year old boy?

5.  So grateful that God produces a means for our earth to replenish, but also grateful that we got out of this storm safely.  

High Five Everyone!!!!

Mischievous Monday........

Ok....So I seriously can not believe I am sharing this with everyone except to get some support. If you are easily offended, or only a mother of girls and have no brothers, this may not be the post for you..... Here goes.

Boys have penises. Just in case you didn't know. When boys are little and discovering what their penises can do, it can make for some interesting conversations with your little guy. Like "We don't pee off of the deck" or "Our penises are not sprinklers". Any way, now that I have said the word penis more times in one conversation than I ever have before.......Here comes the mischievous part of my post.

So you all know our youngest is 5. Well Little Lord Fauntleroy has decided to explore his "potty" options. This may mean that he pees in his bathtub......Our shower.......again off of the deck..... Evidently this also means that he pees in the drainage hole in the garage and makes a little art while doing so. I don't want to impede the little guys creative side, but seriously. GROSS!!!!!

Yesterday, my husband was in the house and heard the garage door open. Now the garage is right next to the downstairs bathroom so having Elliot head that direction is not unusual. By the time DH got to garage door, Elliot had already created his "art". When my husband asked him if in fact he had peed on the garage floor my little angels response was, "No, dad. Addy did it."

Ok. Let's recap. Elliot=BOY, with boy parts. Addy=GIRL, with girl parts. Clearly my 5 year old does not understand physics and that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for sweet Addy to urinate in the below pattern, but it didn't stop him from throwing her under the bus. At any rate, DH is smarter than that and re-asked the question. He did get a more honest response that time. Please tell me that my child is not the only one with "pee creativity"......Good heavens.

Mischievous Monday Blog Hop!!

So, Little Lord Fauntleroy (aka Elliot) is our picky eater. I don't know what we did to him. We offer him veggies, different types of food. We don't make him special meals. We don't let him snack in between. Everything you are "supposed" to do. None the less, my child's diet consists of popcorn, cereal, hot dogs bologna and tortillas.

Now to the mischievous part...... I went in my room, which is just outside the kitchen and living room, to fold and put away a load of laundry. The door was open the kids were watching a show on the big tv in the living room. I come out to LLF running around growing with his tortilla mask on his face. No big deal, right? Until I discovered two days later while making tacos for dinner that he had done the mask thing with ALL of the tortillas in the package. Good times. 

H54F

1.  Absolutely living the watch that my dad got for me for work. The perfect combination of feminine and functional! 

2. So excited about my new job and recent promotion. 😊

3.  Birchbox came this week. Yippee! 

4.  LOVE, LOVE this stuff. It's even better because my sweet sister gave me this one!

5.  I've mentioned this little miracle before. It definitely came in handy again this week. If you don't have it. Get it. 

High Five For Friday everyone!!!! Have a great weekend. 

House of Rose Vlog Hop.........

Join the "Stop and Smell the Roses Vlog Hop" like I did!!!

Have a great and thankful day!!!

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Just BLOGGY HOPPIN'!!!!! Come check everyone out!!

Update Weeks 8, 9, Oh who am I kidding....I don't remember

So you all may have been wondering where on earth I ran off to.  I haven't done a weekly update in quite a while.  Sorry!  I have been working my patutuie off!!!

I was finishing up one class, starting another and getting a promotion at my main job.  Need less to say, I have been HOPIN'!!!

The good news is, we are still making progress.  We have paid off another $1000 worth of debt and put some money away in savings.  That may not seem like a ton given it has been a few weeks since an update, but keep in mind, it is back to school season.  And holy moly can school supplies get expensive. We use coupons and try to buy in bulk when we can, so that most definitely helps.  But there are still things that we feel strongly about buying quality and that does not always mean the cheapest. 

Shoes are one of these examples.  Again, we buy on sale and use coupons when we can, but buying the absolute cheapest shoes is not always smart or money wise.  We have had seasons where we have had to buy each of the kiddos 2 or 3 pairs of shoes from Target or Walmart where one pair from Famous Footwear or Land's End would have been cheaper in the long run.

This can be frustrating when you are spending good money on shoes, only to have to buy them again in a month.  We spend anywhere from $20-30 for a pair of shoes now.  That is much better than $10 or $15 a piece only to have to replace them in a month.  You end up spending more that way.

Any way.....We are still moving forward.  We have also decided to save for a vacation for my husband and I.  This was a long conversation over several months.  We realize that we are paying off debt.  Our thought process is that we need time away also.  In order for us to be motivated, {for most people to be motivated} is to have something to look forward to.  In our case it's a cruise.  We are excited!!!!  We can plan ahead and stay on budget.  Most importantly, we don't have to add more debt to have a good time.  

This will set back a little of the debt payoff, but in the end, like the shoes, it will help us and be more cost efficient in the long run.  It's a way for us to recharge half way through the first year of our journey.  

I promise to keep up.  I am on a pretty good schedule now, so it should be easier!!!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week. 

H54F

1.  I love my Scentsy warmer.  It's patriotic AND smells yummy!

2.  I got the Defining Eyes Palette by Sigma last week.  LOVE!!

3.  The kids at Bandimere.  

4.  I love how it feels to get my hair done.  FINALLY!

5.  The Cabella's here opens Augus 15th.  I can't wait!

High 5 for Friday everyone!!!

H54F

1.  Love that the kiddos are so excited when they lose their teeth.  The tooth fairy came to visit us this week.  :)
2.  During out debt pay down, I love that we can get things on sale.  HUGE sale at Old Navy this week.
3.  Thankful for all of the men and women that are putting out the fires here in Colorado and everywhere else.  Praying for the Arizona hot shot families that lost their loved ones this week.
4.  Can anyone say CRUISE?  I think there might be one in our future.  :)
5.  We finally broke down and got a grill.  Our other one was left in Iowa.  Boy did we miss it.  We LOVE grilled food.

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Week 8 update.............REAL PROGRESS

Hello!!!  So we have had some real progress this week!  We finally got some of our reimbursements as well as a bit more money that we were able to play catch up with.  Yay!!!  We were able to pay off about $4,100 in debt this week!!!  Woot woot!!!  This will save us about $560 per month. Of course this will go towards getting caught up on other things.

We discussed putting some of that in savings instead of paying off the debt, but when looking at the big picture, decided this route, THIS time was the way to go.  

So......We are making progress.  We took my dad out for a late Father's Day dinner, but have otherwise kept spending under control.  I am really proud of us!!!

We also haven't added any new debt.  HUGE accomplishment.  We do love our credit cards.  But after my cut up party a couple of weeks ago, we haven't added any debt or done any sneaky things like get the number off of our statement and use it to buy something. 

So more next week.  Baby steps!!!

         

   

H54F

1.  We love the 4th of July and the awesome parade that goes with it. 

2.  I have a new love. This little pink miracle has gotten me over the 3 am hump at work multiple times this week 

3.  I love being back in Colorado and around family. Sushi night for a late Father's Day celebration!

4.  Look at these handsome Veterans eating and chatting it up at the American Legion post 209! Grateful doesn't even begin to express how I feel. 

5.  My guys. Napping together. ❤❤❤❤

Happy Friday all!  

After we bought socks.....

I am convinced that God has a sense of humor.  I believe that he looks down at us at times and thinks "Silly child.  When are you going to learn that I am in control.  Here maybe this curveball will help."  And then he smiles, maybe even laughs.  

I say the aforementioned because my husband and I had it all figured out.  We just KNEW what we wanted in a child that we adopted.  We wanted an older child so that I could still work.  We were ok with a small sibling group, but thought that starting one at a time may be best.  We wanted a child that was ready to adopt because we didn't want the biological parents to "interfere" in our child's life once they were placed in our home. 

Insert God's sense of humor here {   }........

Our case worker called my husband to tell him that she thought she had the perfect children for us and could she come over to chat with us about them.  She wouldn't give us any details over the phone.  So DH called me at work and told me that I had to be home on time, because the case worker had called and she had the perfect children waiting for us.  I was stunned into silence.  This was really happening.  All of the waiting.  All of the anxiety.  All of the socks.  Were all now coming together.  

Addy Kathryn. 6 months old

Emma Grier, 20 months

Week 7 Update......

Getting closer.....and closer.......

Well this week has most definitely had its challenges.  I started my new job a week before last but had my first overnight shifts this week.  Holy moly.....My husband has been great with the kids and letting me sleep.  But my house looks like it exploded.....Clothes....dirty dishes...you name it.  

The upside is that I have already gotten my first check.  Yay!  Playing catch up is really nice.  In spite of the "extra" money, we did not shop for any extra stuff or go out to eat a ton.  We did eat out once this week as a family and I had lunch with my sister.  Other than a pedicure, which let me tell you, was necessary (can you say sore, cracked heels?), nothing extra. 

Can I tell you how huge this is for us, for just a moment?  It is really huge.  The hubster and I are both shoppers.  We shop when we are happy, we shop when we are sad, we even shop when we are mad. One HUGE gain for the Smith family.  I think I already said it was huge.  But really....It was huge.

So to give the gory details....Still no money in savings.  This will change next week.  It has to.  We paid off another $321 dollars in debt.  We didn't add any new debt and kept our spending under control.  As tiring as this week has been with the new schedule, it was a satisfying one for sure.  

    

                                      

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H54F

1. How crazy is it that I love to see updates come up on my phone??? Sorry, folks. Call me crazy. But it makes me smile every time! 2. I got my office nice and clean recently and am feeling uber appreciative of my Thirty One totes at the moment. Cute and they hold EVERYTHING! 3. Along with my hubby's birthday, the Army celebrated their birthday last week. Yet one more opportunity to thank our military personnel. 4. We got a new faucet this week. Our last one had a mini explosion. 5. Feeling blessed to be living back in Colorado. We have had (and still do) had several wildfires, yet our state pulls together and gets it done! Thank you firefighters, police, military and volunteers for keeping us safe. Have a great Friday folks!!! Talk to you soon and thank you for reading.

 

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Week 6 Update......

Well week 6 is over.  Finally....This week has had some added stress with the fires close by our house. We are so fortunate as over 400 homes were lost in this fire alone.  So very sad....

All of that to say, I start my new job tomorrow.  I am happy for that.  FINALLY, I can start bringing in some money.  We have still done really well this week as far as buying extras.  We have only spent money on bills, food and gas.  That is a big step.  I don't think we've gone quite this long without caving in the past.  We are doing well, sticking with our budget too.  Now if we could just get that $1,000 in savings....... Soon.

We are waiting for payment on the odd jobs that we recently took and the money for selling things is no longer coming in.  Once my husband gets back from his business trip, it will be time to set down again and reevaluate priorities.  We still have some catching up to do.  About 4 more weeks and we will be at water level, instead of below.  Can I get an AMEN????

The Cut Up Party Hostess..........

This week too, I pulled all of my department store credit cards out of my wallet and had a cut up party. I was surprised that when I pulled them out, I was actually hesitant.  I know that we have not been disciplined with them and I know that they needed to go.  But, honestly, a part of me struggled to pull them out and cut them up.  That may sound strange.  To have some sort of attachment to my credit cards. I would venture to say that I am not the only one who feels this way.  If I was, we wouldn't have the debt that we do in this country.  Not only do the cards give us some imagined buying power, but they are also almost a status for some people.  I know that in years past, I have thought how "LUCKY" some of my friends were for having as many cards as they did.  WOW.  Now that I have them, I see how easily they can take control of your life.  You get trapped into thinking that you will only use them "once" or "just for this sale" or "just until next payday"......Well, many a payday has rolled around and many a cards have been left with a balance.  NO MORE!!!!!  Here are my before and after shots of my credit cards.  This week, I am going to call and actually cancel them.  But for today, while I had the guts, my scissors and I had a party.  And then a glass of wine.........

                        

Before........

                        

After.....

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High 5 For Friday.......

1. There's nothing like being upgraded on a flight.....A little more leg room=One Happy Traveler!

2.  Loved that my cab driver from the Toronto Airport had was a closet Disco Man!

3.  My new travel hair care routine......Let's just say the Ottawa water and lack of good hair products did not make for a very pretty week.  Thankfully, Toronto was much better in the hair department.

4.  This was my snacking material for the last three days in Canada.  I was lucky enough to have a market with a fruit and salad bar just around the corner from my hotel.  YUMMY!!!

5.  Strawberry, banana Jamba Juice.  I think I will.  

High 5 Everyone!! 

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Blog:  www.reddersideofpink.blogspot.com

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