Thankful but broke!!

The last four weeks the stress has been about $$$. My DH is out of work because he tore some muscles in his leg while coaching our son in flag football.


We have a lot to be thankful for because I have a really good job and bring home enough to pay most of the bills and with some juggling and tightening we have been getting by. I know that we are a lot better off than a lot of people we know. At least we both have jobs, and we are only slightly buried in credit debt. I have plenty of friends and coworkers who are buried under so much debt one false move or slight accident would make them lose everything they own.


I really am thankful because I have been able to reaccess alot of our spending in the last few weeks, and I know that if it comes down too it we could make it on my check, but it is tight!!


We are such wasteful people. We want to go out and eat instead of making a budget and menu to take to the grocery store. Cooking supper and taking the left overs for lunch is a novel idea. My Grandmother had the right idea. She would cook a small breakfast, a huge lunch, and we would have the leftovers for supper. My Grandparents only went out to eat on special occasions such as a birthday.

We run to the store everyday and spend $10 or $15 on average extra picking up impulse items . If we had made a list and stuck to it, the only money spent during the week would be for gas to get to and from work.

From this experience, I have learned how much money we need in an emergency fund, and how much a week we had been wasting on frivolous things that we did not need to spend money on.

I am thankful that my husband did not have to have surgery and will be fully recovered in a few weeks, and I am thankful for the fiscal lessons even though we are broke for the moment.

Coolest Parents in the Neighborhood

Kids are so funny.


Last night we hosted a Halloween get together for our son.


The attendees were 3 kindergartners, 1 first grader, 4 second graders, 1 third grader, and 1 fourth grader. (all boys except for our daughter and her best friend)


These kids all go to school together, most of them played football together or went to the same Out of School Time program this summer.


We really didn't do that much, cooked a couple of pizzas from Walmart Deli, baked 24 cup cakes, and watched a not so Scary Halloween movie "Monster House". We had plastic souvenir Halloween cups (filled with Hawaiian punch) and a snack bag with 6 pieces if candy and a pair of vampire teeth for treat bags.


The kids came in and played around on gaming Webb sites and PlayStation until everyone got here. We then decorated cup cakes with sprinkles and ate our pizza. They settled onto the floor for the movie. We got really tickled watching them get rowdy during to dull parts and glued to to TV during the action scenes. We then let them eat their cupcakes, and it was time for their parents to come and get them.




Every parent said they thought we were crazy for having 10 kids in our house, but it really wasn't that much trouble. Once again we were called the coolest parents in the neighborhood.

Pets

I love my pets. We have a small menagerie of animals here at the house. There are 2 cats that are 8 years old. (Varmit and Chubbie) These two we had before we had the kids. They have never really liked me at all and are mostly in love with my DH who feeds them on a regular basis. They thought they had the run of the house until we got the "little" Kittie.



Little Kittie came on the scene about a year ago. The kind people across the street rescued him after someone had set him out at our church. They asked us several times if we wanted a kitten. Each time we declined. Two cats are enough. But little Kittie had other ideas. He decided he to could enter our house through the pet door and partake in the eating of the kibble. I am no expert, but I believe if you feed the animal, it decides to sleep in your basement, and your five year old names it, somehow it becomes yours. So it was with little Kittie.



Jack is another matter all together. He is my 12 week old Cockerpoo. I say mine because DH did not really want him, but somehow I convinced him it was a good idea to get a puppy. I was going through a little depressive state because my DD was off to kindergarten and I needed a baby to take care of.
DD (5) asked at dinner one night, "When can I be the big sister?" To which her dad answered, "When we get a puppy." and the rest is history.
Don't get me wrong, I love Jack, but he is driving me nuts. We are working on potty training him. He has decided that the area rug in the living room makes a whole lot better bathroom than that big green carpet outside by the tree. I now spend most of my time on the floor with the rag and carpet cleaner/pet stain remover.
I know this is a process and eventually he will be able to control his bladder and the accidents will hopefully lessen. (To say stop is too optimistic at this point). But for now, I could just scream at times!!!

So, right now Varmit is cornered on the kitchen counter, while Jack is standing in the kitchen barking at her because he can't reach her. I could scream!!! But, that would just add to the noise level in the house, and the neighbors might call the police. So for now, I will just go scold Jack then pick Varmit up and take her outside.