So, I've decided to buy the Honda from my friend. Her husband has taken it to work to do an oil change and put on the all season tires. He'll take it through air care and then it will be all mine. We'll switch ownership and insurance on the weekend and I won't have to worry after that. I will be driving a reliable vehicle.

Today I am borrowing my sil's car to get to work and then Thursday and Friday I'll use my brother's because he's going to Australia for the week. I plan on using his as little as possible...the muffler is going and, not only does it sound like a race car, I don't want to deal with the muffler falling off while I'm driving the little wreck!

It's another super busy day around here. Work, paper route, and grocery shopping...oh, and ds(13) starts his spring ball hockey tomorrow and we need to go through his equipment and replace a few things. This will be costly because I know for sure that he needs a new helmet, cage, and gloves. I love spring hockey...just not the expense!

Yeppers. That's where Dh and I will be going today. The transmission on the van is shot, and we've had nothing but problems with that vehicle for the past year. I don't want to fix it and then have something go wrong next week. We'll go take a look at what's out there...

I am going to have to use our emergency fund to pay for the new one, though, and that really ticks me off. I'm wondering how long Dh and I can get by on one vehicle...probably not very long since I really need a car for work and he needs to get to work! Opposite directions, three busy kids etc. Oh well, I do appreciate the fact that we have the money and, hopefully, we won't have to take out any kind of car loan. My dad really sweetly told me to let him know if we need to 'borrow' some money. I'm 40 years old...I really don't plan on borrowing money from my dad to buy a car. But it was nice of him to offer.

So, the only money that we'll be spending today will be on toilet paper and milk...and possibly a new vehicle!

I went grocery shopping yesterday and spent $227.00!!! This was enough food for the five of us for the week and we're hosting 2 Easter dinners next weekend. We're having 24 for dinner on Saturday (we'll be having ham and turkey) and then 10 for dinner on Sunday (ham). Luckily, I qualified for a second free ham because I spent over $200.00. Yippee...lucky me...

The worst part is I still have to go back and buy vegetables for both dinners. I also didn't get any Easter treats with that shop because I had Dd with me. YIKES!

On top of that expense Dh really wanted to go out for dinner. We had coupons for 2 free kids meals and a $25.00 gift certificate, so we used that, but the meal cost for Dh and I, along with the tip, was still $25.00. This had better be as close to a non spend week as possible!

It's going to be a busy day today. I have 6 schools to visit for work and still have to spend some time at my office because I really need to enter some data into the computer and the program can't be accessed from home. Tonight we have a dinner to go to at 6:00 and then the kids have their party club from 8:00-9:30pm.

Tomorrow we've been invited to a PowWow, that will last most of the day, and then Dh is going out with a friend to a concert. My nephew is sleeping over and I'll be taking 6 kids swimming after dinner.

I NEED Sunday to hurry up and come. It'll be a day of rest...and grocery shopping...and cleaning bathrooms...

I'm tired just thinking about it!

My 26 year old niece is pregnant...with twins...girls! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. They are due to arrive in July and she and her dh only live about 20 minutes away, so we'll be able to see them often.

I have an extra special great aunt, and I hope to be one to these two girls. My dd is 10, so there will be one for each of us to hold while babysitting!

I haven't posted in a really long time...work has been absolutely nuts! My contract runs from September to June and then I'll be re-hired in September. I'm not sure if I will come back. The stress of this job is annoying me (although I tend to put most of the pressure on myself!), but the hours and flexibility may win me over. I'll wait and make a decision in the summer when I'm not in the office.

I went in for a visit at my old job last week. I am so glad that I left there. All the reasons that I quit came flooding back and, for the most part, it's quite a negative work environment, so I know that I made the right choice on that one.

Ds turned 7 last week and we had his party at home. We had a drive in theatre...the kids made cars out of boxes, drove them to the family room, 'bought' candy, popcorn and drinks at the concession stand and watched a movie. Then they had cake and the little guy opened his gifts. The kids were very well behaved, but I still prefer having parties outside of the home...easier on my energy although not on the budget.

Dh's job is not going full time, so we're still ticking along on two part time jobs. He bought a new-to-us car in January...a 1998 Saturn. It's in excellent condition and he looked for almost 3 months before settling on this one. Sharing a vehicle was just too difficult with our schedules and the three kids' schedules. We paid cash, and are now working on building our emergency fund back up to 3 months of expenses. I will end up with about $2400 in tax returns this year, so that should cover the remainder of what we need. After that, we'll start saving for the hot tub to be repaired, and I would LOVE new kitchen countertops...ours are a dusty rose colour...yep, think 1980!

Well, that should catch me up for now. It's good to be back and I've enjoyed reading up on what you've all been doing.
Cheers!

So it was Ds's 13 birthday party last night and 9 came for a sleepover. Well, four of them actually (including mine) stayed up all night. They were reasonably quiet. I was only woken up twice between midnight and 8:00am, so that's not too bad. The kids who did sleep got anywhere between 2-4 hours, so they were all running on empty this morning. They swam at the pool for three hours last night and had a blast there and then came back and I put out chips, pop, lemonade, bagel bites, honey garlic wings, pogos and birthday cake. They microwaved popcorn at some point through the night. I made them sausages and waffles for breakfast and they played hockey indoors until 11:00am, when parents started to arrive for pick up.

They are a wonderful group of kids: polite, well mannered, and FUN! It was a pleasure to have them all together enjoying themselves. I think we had a great start to teenagerdom...we'll see what's to come!

How did that happen? It's ds's 13th birthday today! He's invited 9 of his friends to go swimming at the wave pool and sleep over...it's going to be one long night. Luckily, my wonderful sil offered to take our younger 2 kids for the evening so they won't be home and kept awake until the wee hours of the morning. Ds asked if they could pull an all nighter and we told him that's fine, but we don't want to be woken up, so they're going to have to be somewhat quiet...yeah, right. I had to say it--we are the parents.

I think tomorrow is going to be a restful, quiet day at my house. I'll be looking forward to an early bedtime!

Our power went out around 4:00pm yesterday due to high winds. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and went for a 'dark walk' (as told by our 6 year old). The power was still out this morning, which really sucked. I discovered that I really don't like getting up to a freezing cold, and dark, house.

I got the kids to school and attempted to get to work. Unfortunately, it started to snow early this morning, causing major traffic jams and slippery road conditions. I went about 25 blocks in 45 minutes before I decided to turn around and come home. When I arrived back here, there was power! Yay! I've spent the rest of the day in a nice, warm house drinking tea, puttering and reading.

The kids will be home from school soon. I'm going to get my pedometer on in a bit and go for a walk. We are completely out of bread and milk...not a good thing! Those are staples in our house. Hopefully, the snow stops soon. We have about a foot now, and I really do have things I need to attend to at work tomorrow...

Yep, it's my third day of being home sick with the flu. I feel awful. Actually, I can't remember the last time I felt so sick. My nose is running, throat is sore, I have a headache and all my joints ache. Yuck. I'm tired just from sitting up.

My mom came and got the two youngest kids and took them to her house for some crafts and lunch. I'll be meeting them at the dentist at 1:00. Ds6 has two cavities to be filled and dd10 has to get a tooth pulled. Worst of all is my Dh has my van so I have to walk there. It might be good for me to get some fresh air, but I can't believe how tired I am.

I'm on my third day of no spending...I'm too sick to go out and buy anything!

Wow! It's been ages since I've blogged on here...

I have been so super busy at my new job, it has taken me a good 3 months to figure everything out and settle in there. The person who had the job before me, and who didn't have her contract renewed, left things in a big mess. Our office administrator has been spending a good part of her time helping me to sort it all out. She also got a volunteer assistant for me who is unbelievably awesome and does anything that I ask of her.

I sometimes do miss the customers and staff at my old job but I don't miss the hours or the crap that went on there!

The kids are doing well. Report cards come out next week and I've already met with dd's teachers and saw her wonderful report card. Ds (aged 12) is having some difficulties with 'friends' at school and has been in some fights lately. Last week he was involved in a snowball incident which started out innocently enough but he ended up protecting a boy a year younger who had been injured and was laying in the snow crying while 8 other boys slaughtered him with snowballs. Ds stood over him so he wouldn't be hit and got yelled at and taunted by the other kids. He ended up beating up one of the kids who wouldn't stop. I got the story from him, and then a parent, who happened to be at the park, phoned to tell me that I should be really proud of him for how he had handled the situation, all except for the end part where he beat the kid up.

Dh's car died at the beginning of November and we're trying to hold off until January before buying a new one. So far, so good. We've had a few times where we could really use our second vehicle but we're managing. I would really like to just use the money in our emergency fund and not finance anything, but Dh wants more car than we have money for. We'll wait and see who wins this battle, but I'm betting on me!

Good to be back here. I'm enjoying reading everyone's blogs and catching up!

The kids and I are about to head off for the library. We owe $26.00 (from the last 6 months). This is typical of us as we are constantly leaving books at home when we go. I have no excuse because it is so simple to renew online, but somehow I always miss the date! Aaargh!

I spent the morning tidying up the house, and we'll spend most of the afternoon reading, but a nice lazy day was in order for me...much needed.

Tomorrow we're going on a potluck picnic dinner to the creek nearby with some friends. I'm looking forward to laying on a blanket, chatting, while the kids play nearby--one of my favourite things!

We held our neighbourhood garage sale yesterday from 9:00-3:00. Dh and I started setting up about 7:30. It was a beautiful sunny day. We had advertised through the local radio station and signs we put up, but did not use the local paper. This was our one mistake and we would definately put an ad in next time.

All our neighbours got involved, we barbequed lunch and then ate dinner together as well. Everyone brought their own meat and we shared potatoes, corn on the cob, carrot sticks and garlic bread. After we ate dinner, we pulled our fire pit to the front of the cul de sac and everyone roasted marshmallows, had a few drinks, listened to music and chatted until about 11:00. It was a fun day and we are thankful to have such great neighbours!

We netted $73.00 on our sale. I was hoping for more, but every little bit is more money to Dh's $1000 Challenge Fund, so I was not terribly disappointed. We would certainly do it again.

There is a new restaurant near our house that we've been waiting for to open and yesterday it did. The kids really wanted to go there for dinner, we've been promising that we would when it opened, and thought tonight would be a great night to go. I was all for it because I'm super tired from yesterday and am having a very mellow day. DH ACTUALLY VETOED GOING OUT FOR DINNER!!! He said to the kids,"Sorry, guys, but we have tons of leftovers in the fridge for side dishes. Mom and I will walk to the store and get pork chops to barbeque."

Who took my husband and replaced him with this money conscious one? Although he's always been a believer in not having debt and saves for stuff if he really wants it, in our 16 years of marriage has never been interested in the finances. I love this new part of him and hope it sticks around!

So Dh's plan to earn an extra $1000.00 this month is just clicking along tickety boo!

July 5--Grocery Coupon--$5.00
July 6--Phone Book Deliveries--$56.65
July 7--Won on a lottery ticket given as a gift--$10.00
July 7--Phone Book Deliveries--$54.45
July 8--Garage Sale--$73.00

We now have $730.90 left to go for the month and together we will have earned an extra grand this month! Woohoo!

Ds's kindergarten class had a cookout today with all the kids and their parents. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and had juice, coffee, cookies and watermelon...all free of charge. Best of all, Dh and I picked up a TON of free pre-cut wood that people had brought for the campfires, and then weren't needed because there was way too much. Nobody wanted to take their wood home, and we weren't allowed to leave it there, so we cleared it out! Now we have plenty for our fireplace and our outdoor firepit. Very nice! (one parent handed me the wood that she'd just paid $5 for at the gas station--they have a gas burning fireplace at home and have no use for the wood. I offered her the money, but she declined.)

The money from my savings bond that my Dad cashed in on his trip ended up being $497 US. I'll be exchanging it and I think it's equal to $535 CDN. We would like a large dining room table. Our current one is glass topped and only seats 4. This might be a good use for the money, if I can find one I love.

We are organizing a neighbourhood garage sale for July 8th. I can't wait to make some money and declutter the garage! We are using the money to help fund our summer vacation to West Edmonton Mall and Drumheller...dinosaur bones, here we come!

I took the day off work today! Dh wanted me to go to work with him and then take me for lunch. I said no. Best friend called to see if I wanted to go shopping with her and then go out for lunch. I said no. Dd wanted me to go with her class on their field trip. I said no...well, that one I am feeling slightly guilty about, but I have two field trips next week and I will be helping with hot lunch, so I'm not going to be too guilt ridden over it. I do lots at the school!

Yesterday was crazy busy at work and then I picked the kids up from school, filled the van up with gas, took dd to gymnastics, went grocery shopping, got home and made pita pocket sandwiches for dinner, picked dd up from the gym, went home, got the boys ready because they both had hockey pictures, went to the rink, fed everyone their dinner there while all the team pictures were taken, and then came home and helped with homework, lunches, baths, and bedtime stories. I'm tired and want a day off!

I think I'm done whining now...

I can't believe she's 10 already! We probably (o.k., we did) go overboard on her presents, but this is the last year that she's going to ask for things like a Cabbage Patch Pony...I wanted her birthday to be special. She asked for sushi for dinner, so I'll make it instead of buying it. I'd really rather buy it because I'm feeling lazy and it's a lot of work to make, but I'll get over it! She asked for cupcakes for her class, too, so I made those yesterday. She'll have her sleepover party in a few weeks. My friend gives her kids a budget, and then they get to figure out what the party will entail...homemade cake or DQ ice cream cake? hmmm--the choices and costs are endless when you're 10!

We had dentist appointments yesterday, which, thankfully, are covered by my dental through work, and then came home, ate a quick dinner, and went to ds's hockey game (which he lost 5-4, but he scored a goal, so he was happy), and then I took him to Chapters to get a Dungeon and Dragons starter kit. That cost him $30.00. Good thing he has a paper route!

I'm doing nothing today. I've been planning my nothing day all week. Truth be told, it's 11:39 am and I'm getting a little bored of sitting around. I did have a shower and got dressed, helped dh make breakfast...I thing that's it so far. We'll probably walk over to the store later for some milk and fruit, but other than that I'm saving money, energy, and my sanity!

We had fun at the school Carnival yesterday. I was glad that I set the games up in the gym because it absolutely poured rain outside, which really sucked for the concession, band, motorcross, mini golf, petting zoo, and bouncy castle. The kids starting bringing the animals into the gym from the petting zoo because they were so cold! It was pretty funny...

We're going to barbeque chicken for dinner--yum--and dh says he's doing yardwork. I'm trying to convince him to do it tomorrow because he's not working, and I'll feel guily sitting doing nothing while he's slaving away outside. Well, maybe, just a little guilty!

again! Under the bad influence of my dh and son (aged 6!), I was coerced into going out for Chinese food for lunch. This cost us $23.00...it was very good, though!

One of the other managers bought me dinner tonight. I had a cajun chicken sante fe salad, and I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow. It should be a no spend day. Saturday is the school carnival, so we'll be dropping some money there, but it shouldn't be too much. Everything is pretty low cost at this event.

I have Sunday off work. Nobody in the house has hockey, girl guides, gymnastics or any other planned activity. I'm going to relax and veg outside...maybe do a barbeque in our fire pit and roast some marshmallows!

this month. On nothing that we needed. I did take a shirt back to Walmart today that didn't fit properly...and then spent 3 times as much on a sweater at Superstore! Woe is me!

My best friend took me out for Japanese food...it was sooo good. We're a bad influence on eachother because we always plan stuff and then end up shopping instead!

Tomorrow will hopefully be a no spend day.

Yesterday our boys had back to back hockey games, but instead of buying hot dogs and junk at the rink, I made pita sandwiches, filled them with chicken and ceaser salad, brought some juice boxes, and cookies, and there was dinner. Of course, it was a little staggered, because of the game schedules, but everyone ate well, and we didn't spend any money there!

are soooo quiet! I was bored, bored, bored. It's really hot here, which is such a nice change. The kids played in the sprinkler after school and I tidied up. We're having prawns and broccoli for dinner, and then walking over to the library.
I didn't spend anything yet today, but I will be going to the store on the way to the library to get my boss a gift for her birthday tomorrow. I may end up just getting her a gift certificate, but I'll check out the store first and see if anything hits me!

I got paid on Friday and my cheque was $100 more than usual because of my pay increase! Yay! There was a second cheque with it for just over $300 because, apparently, the big company that bought out our little company last year has a yearly profit sharing plan for their employees...what a nice surprise it was!
We had a wonderful Easter dinner last week for the family. We made both ham and turkey and all the trimmings. My sils brought dessert and appies. It was so fun and very relaxing and we have tons of leftovers. The monthly meal plan is working out well. Having it posted on the fridge has been great because the kids know what's for dinner and I don't hear any complaints from them. They know that they're welcome to sit with me at the beginning of the month and help with the planning.
Spring ball hockey has started for the boys and that keeps the everyone very busy...dh especially, as he is one of the coaches for ds6!

Yep, it's been awhile since I posted here. Life has been busy and bumbling along. Everyone is sick with the flu at our house. Very pleasant, I assure you.
My best friend had a cancer scare which turned out to be nothing in the end. It was two weeks of me reassuring her that everything would be fine. I was really just reassuring myself, but it was all I could do.
Ds turned 6. I can't believe how old my kids are getting. You turn around and they're real little people...it's unbelievable!
On the savings front we're doing great. Our emergency fund is taken care of and it looks like my dream of spending my 40th birthday in Disneyland may not just be a dream because we won't have to empty out the account to do it...we'll see!