Fun fun fun!

You know - one of my favorite things that we've done recently is getting one of the Outer Banks rentals for a week. I really like being able to be with my family, but not be on top of each other in a tent or a motel room. We go off season, so it's much less, but really, if you go with another family or as an extended family, it's not too bad even in season. And so many things to do. Really, fun stuff :).

Which to choose?

Anyone know much about insurance? I really don't know the difference between different types of plans that are out there, and someone told me that we should switch our term policies to whole life insurance before we get too much older. No clue.... When does it make the most sense to have what?

Saving money online

Is there anything that can't be bought online now? It's amazing how quickly the online shopping thing has just exploded over the last ten years! I love that I can compare different products and services by just clicking and clicking away. I was just comparing insurance online and it's so nice to be able to save money so quickly! Yeah - little things make me happy :).

Part time work?

Anyone else trying so hard to figure out how to make this stay at home mom thing work? It seems like whenever things are going smoothly a wrench gets thrown into the works. An unexpected bill... Time off from work... I've been trying to figure out what I can do to help the finances. Maybe one of the sales jobs I've seen in the paper? How does it all fit?!?!

Belated Spring Cleaning

So I did do some spring cleaning - I had a day of mad cleaning a bit back - but I really would not say that I have a CLEAN house by any stretch of the imagination!!! One thing that I really need to do is go through closets and purge out old clothes, the too small, never worn, all of that... Then, I need to take a few moments and find some deals for new clothes that will fit the munchkins. It's nice that in summertime I can get away with shorts and capris, and forget about the too short pants for a little bit, but I suppose everyone should have one or two pairs that actually fit, just in case... I found a few spots online for some great deals, even wholesale clothing. Yeahh! A little digging in the closets and then on the computer and we'll be good. :)

Outside stuff

It's Springtime, the time of year when the Lowes and Home Depot ads are filling the newspapers, and I am just amazed at the incredible array of outside stuff that they carry now! I'm not really THAT old, and when I was a kiddo, no one had any furniture outside except a picnic table, a couple of lawn chairs, and maybe a pool. Now there are a plethora of choices in gazebos, decks, hot tubs, all sorts of goodies for outside. Cool stuff, but just another area for me to attempt to keep tidy!!!

Get up!!!

I have decided that I need to have a little personal trainer chase me around and yell "get up!" at me, whenever I'm tempted to sneak onto the computer, or sit for "just a minute" on the couch, when I know full well that I should be walking on the treadmill, taking a spin on an elliptical, or going for a nice bike ride with the kids outside. I am just too tired to be active on my own! Whine whine whine..... I did do about a third of a pilates on the exercise ball routine this morning, so those 10 minutes should count for something, right? :)

Money stuff

We were talking today about how being a grownup can be very tricky. I guess for our family it's really the money stuff that gets us. We're trying to do this on one income, and even when our plans look good on paper, reality never quite matches up. Today we found out about a big repair for the truck that really came out of nowhere, as far as we were aware, and really needs to be done. Our vehicles are both older models and this stuff happens, but it's still discouraging when you're trying to figure out how to balance it all. I know that this part of the grownup stuff would be easier if I went back to work, but we both feel like right now I'm where I'm supposed to be... Anyway, I feel more badly for my husband. He has to go into Lowes and Home Depot almost every day for customers, and he gets to see people buying all sorts of big ticket items, looking at copper sinks, appliances, new floors, and we're just trying to figure out how to pay the bills. Money stuff is no fun...
Okay, enough pity party! I know that God has supplied all of our needs, and will continue to do so, so no more whining (at least for today!)

Hot hot hot!!

Today hit 89 degrees, which is amazingly hot for upstate NY in April!!! It was a beautiful day to do so many things. We planted our garden already, which hopefully I won't regret when we switch back to frost or something crazy. We had a softball game for one of my daughters. Some playground time of course. We washed the van, ok, so the kids washed the van :). One thing I would not want to have done today would be all fancied up for a wedding. Think about it. You've bought cool weather bridesmaid dresses and a long sleeve wedding dress, prepping for a normal day in April, and then bam! It's premature summer!! Imagine the groomsmen sweating like crazy in their tuxedo shirts. Yikes. No thanks. I enjoyed my nice cool September wedding. Anyway, the rambling thoughts of Kathie strike again!

To do!

You should have seen my to do list yesterday!! I was working on it until about 11:30 because I was determined to GET IT DONE! I didn't finish it all up, but today I am really going to strive to have a day of rest, a day to reflect on things a little more important than the to do's on my list. The list will still be there tomorrow. The laundry will still be there to put away. The patio chairs will still be in need of a Springtime bath tomorrow. The cat's box, well, that may have to happen today :). Lists are wonderful things, and checking things off of them makes me very happy, but setting them aside for days to recharge, reflect, and reconnect is even better!