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Just an Update

April 18th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

**Decided to take the weekend off. I think I needed a day off just to "detox." I "woke up" from my catatonic state around 5pm last night. Have felt great, since. Today I am mixing cooking, laundry and cleaning, with sleeping, vegging, hanging out. I feel like I have all the time in the world, compared to the last few months. BUT, a little stuck indoors since the kids are sick.

Of course, may work a BIG weekend next weekend. But should be the last one...

**Dh talked me into going to see the new baby, but BM woke up with his "croup cough" again. HE said the inhaler helped (first time I had it during an episode). I didn't notice much difference, he still sounded terrible. But I think his throat closes up a bit and it did seem to help with that. Usually he goes about a year between episodes. Just got the inhaler last month after his "annual episode." Didn't expect to actually get to use it.

Of course, I was up with LM last night administering his inhaler. *sigh* HE uses his much more often. Might just be allergies, but didn't want to take any chances - and kids needed to rest.

**Target is hard to get through anymore - they have too many monkeys! I went to return a couple of items that LM did not like. I drug him along to help me pick out summer footwear he WOULD like, etc. Monkeys everywhere. Got him a monkey outfit, to boot. The plus side is with all the hand-me-downs, he should be pretty set with the $30 monkey wardrobe. (Bought him some sandals and a $4 shirt, too).

Their "meat and produce" arrives in June. Will be interesting. I still find it unlikely that they will beat the prices at our local grocery store - which has extremely high quality/low cost meat and produce. But, will see!

I don't know if BM will need some new summer clothes. Will see. He tends to grow more up than out, so his shorts from last year may fit just dandy. I bought him some new shoes and swim trunks, already (on sale). It is possible that he may be set for summer.

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**I tried really hard not to count my eggs until they hatched. But, phew, I did get a tax season bonus, after all. With dh's surgery and everything, a little less than last year. But still, not bad.

I deposited 100% of it into savings. We have no needs/wants at the moment. But for more savings!

I was also relying on said bonus, to reach my aggressive savings goals for this year. Will be close... If things settled down, I think we could still make decent progress this year. But, it is possible dh will have another expensive medical procedure, so who knows.

I don't mind using the money to paint the house. BUT, as I ponder foreseeable home maintenance (like painting the exterior) I also worry about the unforseeable. Maybe "unforseeable" isn't the right word. We've been in this house 9 years. No doubt we should save up for more home maintenance. I just figure once we get to a sufficient savings level, about $5k per year should do it. That would be $50k per decade for car purchases and home maintenance (+ other large items like orthodontia and random medical things). Should really be more than ample.

I suppose I should feel lucky that our long range plan worked and that we really haven't had any large outflows while the kids were real small (& while income was super low). But the last 2-3 years have been progressively more expensive. I just know there will be more to be had. Appliances will not last forever, etc. Spinning my wheels a bit in the interim. Once I get a little ahead of the curve, $5k/year should really do. For now, still working on the "getting ahead."

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I am gearing up for vacation mode.

I don't think dh will be working next summer. BUT, I do realize that it is possible that this could be our last "slow summer" for a while.

For the longest time, the only schedule we have had to work around is my work schedule. Which is pretty flexible come summer. Now we have BM's school schedule, and will soon add LM (come August). Their summer break is very brief.

As I dreamt about summer, it did hit me that before long dh may be working and will have his own work schedule to work around. We might as well enjoy - might be our last "carefree" summer on many levels.

The first weekday I can swing off (in May) we are going to Monterey. Well, going on a Saturday. But I will enjoy the day off, and we can drive down when BM gets off school.

That is just the start. The rest of summer, we are looking forward to a lot of pool time, bike riding, hiking, and the like. Will go to some museums, amusement parks, water parks, and all that jazz.

What we really need to do is plan some camping.

Dh and I are going to Hawaii in September, too. That just feels like a million years away, at this point!

But I am definitely shifting gears, from crazy to lazy! Big Grin Until December...

3 Responses to “Just an Update”

  1. Broken Arrow Says:
    1271679818

    I see you changed your avatar and description. Very nice. Is tax season over for you now? Hopefully, things will be less hectic for you now.

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    1271688389

    "Crazy" will be over April 30th. Technically, "tax season" is over, but I have a lot of tax stuff to tend to (amendments and late filers), plus piles of other work to catch up on.

  3. Homebody Says:
    1271704752

    Just heard on the radio that it's another bad year for allergies. Sorry about the boys. That must be difficult, knowing my own asthma problems.

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