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what we splurge on

June 24, 2015

As we are working on our family budget and getting serious about paying off debt and saving money, I thought it would be worthwhile to examine what we want to include that might be considered a splurge. These are things that we could cut out if needed but at this point in time are still important enough to us to account for. Here is what I came up with: 1. Air conditioning. We live in Houston and it is H-O-T. I can’t sleep well at night unless the house is cool, and David can’t be in the house at all if it’s too hot. We definitely keep it cooler than many people would but it’s huge for our quality of life….
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around here // father’s day weekend

June 22, 2015

How was your Father’s Day weekend? Ours was incredibly full and busy – but so fun. At the end of last week, Liam got sick with fever again. Poor guy seriously catches every little whiff of a virus. He still has congestion and low-grade temperature, but with the real fever behind him we’re just going on with life. On Saturday, after chores and errands (and while David was at work), my good friend Lauren came over to help me declutter and reorganize the kitchen. I wanted to start there since I spend so much time in it, and I figured I’d get the most bang for my buck. Lauren was a big help in providing feedback, and keeping the kids…
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life with kids & kittens

June 15, 2015

Well, we are about two months into life with the kittens and I’m here with a progress report! I had never owned a cat before, so I have learned a LOT. First of all: we love them. Well, David is indifferent, but I myself really enjoy their happy furry presence, especially on the rare occasions when I’m home alone. They are often the first thing Meredith talks about when she wakes up or comes home. They are an endless source of delight for Liam. Kittens & Kids One reason we opted for kittens was because they wouldn’t be afraid of kids and they’d get used to life with them. Well, they are getting exposure for sure! I have been able to teach…
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currently

June 12, 2015

hand modeling by Christie earlier this month at her adorable house. :) wishing it wasn’t supposed to rain this weekend when we finally had our trip to the beach planned. making backup plans in case we can’t go, including decluttering, library visiting, and lining up babysitting so I can take the cats to get vaccines. figuring out my Enneagram type as a result of a recent episode of the Sorta Awesome podcast. I’m taking a short test and then reading over the profiles for the top results to see which fits me best. feeling sore from yoga at my work gym. Definitely going to be going back for this every week! trying to convince all my friends to sign up for Voxer because I need…
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a tip for spending less money

June 9, 2015

In our house we are getting serious about paying off our debt and saving money. Funny how as soon as you tell yourself that you can’t spend anything, all you want to do is buy stuff! For real, though. I’ve long known that for us it’s the little stuff here and there that adds up, but it’s so easy to justify those small purchases. So when we cut out all extra spending recently, I had to find a way to deal with the urges to buy things. “Retail therapy” really does work in the short run, but since it’s not in line with my overall values I know I’ll regret it later. On the other hand, I know that if I…
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