Money Intervention

OK...the life of a stay at home mom is not all bon bons and soap operas! I am so exhausted I think I need to go to work for a vacation! Don't get me wrong - very, very thankful to have to opportunity to devote 100% of myself to my family! I have been a stay at home mom in the past but never with 2 kids going different ways, this just puts a whole new twist on things. Between laundry, dirty toilets, piano, AWANA, projects, cooking...whew! Since we made the decision to make this change, so many people have asked why now when both kids are in school. Valid question, this is the time when a lot of moms would go back to work...I struggled for a bit to come up with the "right" answer. But honestly I have come to understand that they need me now for different reasons than when they were babies but no less important reasons. The value of volunteering at the school
and seeing their social interactions for myself, being there to hear those first stories after school, making dinner for us to all sit together and enjoy - priceless!!! I have missed the calm that comes with life being in order, or at least as orderly as it gets with 2 wild monkeys running around.
With that said...here comes the money intervention. I am trying to completely readjust the way I have been shopping and spending our money. I have found so many great blogs and resources for cutting costs and living frugal - being good stewards of the income the Lord has given us. I am working towards slashing our expenses by at least 10% in the next 6 months. That means comparison shopping, coupons, lots of home cooking and homemade gifts! I wanted to share a few of the blogs I have found that I can't get enough of, doesn't everyone love a good deal?!

www.moneysavingmom.com

www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com

www.mommsavers.com

www.frugalmom.net/blog

My Favorite Season

I LOVE fall...everything about it makes me happy - the cooler weather, falling leaves, first fire in the fireplace, hot stew on the stove! The change in season has been more than just weather and leaves for us this year. After much prayer and discussing, we decided that I would give up my position and the surgery center and focus 100% on our home and family. This has been a long time coming and the Lord has been working on us to show us His plan, we just weren't quite ready to take that leap of faith. So silly really....of course He will provide a way for this if it truly His will. Sure enough, He provided the perfect opportunity at the perfect time! I have a few more days to orient those taking over my position but I am already, for the most part, at home. I thought I would breathe this big sigh of relief and feel nothing but joy. Not exactly how it is playing out...I must admit I feel a little lost. I have kept myself SUPER busy to try and feel as productive as humanly possible and I know that over time I will come to really appreciate all that this offers. Among the many busy tasks is finally updating this blog!!! So much has happened and is happening - pumpkin patch, carnivals, Halloween, soccer awards - I will let the pictures speak for themselves! Happy Harvest!

Career Day

A few weeks ago it was Career Day at school and I just hadn't gotten around to posting these pics yet! Sami was a nurse and Matthew was a Genesis Pools guy as he would say. Cory picked up the kids from school that day and they went to a couple of jobs with him. Matthew was telling the crew that he was the "real" boss of Genesis Pools. Evidently he was being quite the character and loving every minute of it! Sami and a few friends at school were all nurses and even had matching scrubs. We made her an "official" name badge complete with a picture! Again, so stinkin' cute!

Soccer Studs

Yaaa...they LOVE it! Matthew even asked if he could spend the night on the soccer field! With Matthew being just shy of the start age for AYSO soccer, both kids are playing in the Naz Sports league and each had their first game this weekend. They are both playing on the Tar Heels but different age brackets. So stinkin' cute!

Back Into the Swing of Things

The hustle bustle of school time is in full swing these days! Sami is really enjoying the 2nd grade and LOVES her teacher. She is making some new friends that she weren't in her class last year and is a social butterfly! She has been bitten by the reading bug, going through chapter books every 2 days or so. We got both the kids library cards and are on a weekly routine of visiting the library for new books each week before dance class. Speaking of classes...Sami has quite the schedule: Monday ballet, Tuesday piano, Wednesday Grandma Day, Thursday tap/jazz, Saturday soccer! I was worried it would all be too much but she seems to be thriving with the busyness!
Matthew has exceeded my expectations in Preschool. He goes 5 days a week and does 1 hour of after school care so that he gets done at the same time as Sami (3:00 pm). On Tuesdays Miss Brenna from Kid's Edition does a class for the preschoolers after school and he is really enjoying that! He will be starting soccer on Saturday's, just like Sami, at the Naz next week. And he is always my lil' sidekick while we wait for Sami to finish her classes. He is starting to really come out of his shell and become a little boy instead of toddler! Health wise he is doing great also! We haven't been to the pediatrician for almost 6 months (knock on wood). We go next week for both kids to have a yearly checkup and are hoping to have results from our visit to UCSF. Then he has a MRI in December at Stanford. If this MRI shows no changes then we can wait 2 years until we go again!! You would never know all that he has been through..he is such a trooper.
As for Cory, he gets left out of the updates all too often. He and Genesis Pools are thriving, stressed but thriving. We just celebrated the 1 year anniversary of the business with a dinner at Tokyo Gardens last week. Amazing to think it has already been a year. I had no doubt Cory would be successful (I am a little bias) but seeing it become a reality is phenomenal!
God is so good...so many times I get caught up in the negatives that I need to stop and remember all that He has brought us through. Today I am counting my blessings!

Happy Birthday to Our Baby

We had the best weekend and birthday celebration for Matthew! It started with a swim party in the afternoon, complete with a pinata! We ended it with dugout seats at the Rawhide game and the signed homerun ball for Matthew! Happy Birthday baby boy, we love you!

St.Paul's or Bust

How can it be?! I blinked and now both of my kids are in school! Sami started 2nd grade with Mrs. Doss. She loves her teacher and being able to catch up with all of her friends after a long summer. She is doing so well and there was literally no adjustment period at all. Sami also started back up with ballet/tap/jazz this week along with the piano lessons we started this summer. She is blossoming into a young lady right before our eyes. As for Matthew, he is amazing to me. I was so worried about starting him in Pre School, especially when we decided to go ahead with the 5 day a week schedule. Cory was so confident that he was ready and would be fine, but I had my doubts. As usual...Cory was right-Matthew has done awesome! I think having him go to a couple weeks of summer school was very helpful, he just fits right in! We are looking forward to this school year and all the growth it will bring. What a joy to be their mother...