Spring Break-The End!

This Wednesday we ran for some groceries, and then met our Church friends at the Mulvane Art Lab.  Rowan loved it!  There were Legos, a light table, a chalk cave, various drawing activities, and lots of fun stuff for the kids to do!  He enjoyed the outlet of creativity, and I enjoyed getting to chat briefly with the Church moms. 

We came home and ate some lunch, and then Grammy came to visit for the next two days!

Grammy had taken the week off, so she came for some grandkid time.  Wednesday afternoon we played quietly at home.  Then Thursday, Grammy needed to run some errands, so off Isla, Rowan, and I went!  We went to Kohls, Walmart, JC Penny's, and then let the kids run around in the playground area at the mall.  A quick lunch at Chick Fil'A, and Isla Hope fell asleep on the way home:-)  It was still rainy on Thursday, so we played inside and then ran to get some cupcakes from Billy Vanilly when Isla woke up!

Friday we said goodbye to Grammy, but Alex took the day of of work to play with us!  We didn't accomplish much, but enjoyed some much needed healthy down time.  We played, ate, laughed, and just cuddled our two little munchkins.  

We took the kids to the zoo this morning and enjoyed seeing our animal friends with Dad.  Dad usually is at work when I take the kids to the zoo, so it was a fun change of pace!  Alex and Rowan painted our mailbox today a bright purple color, and I ran to the grocery store for food!  It was gorgeous here today, and we enjoyed some sidewalk chalk and fun outside!

I love spring break, and the peace it brings.  Having grown up with no days off of work, I realize how incredibly blessed I am to have a job that gives me these days at home!  It was wonderful, and I realize how incredibly content my life is.  Nine more Mondays until summer!  That seems doable;-)

March Update

We are in month 3 of our 2012 goals.  We only made a little progress this month.  Progress is progress, though.

1. Get PMI taken off of our Home Loan -Done in February!

2. Pay off Alex's small student loan ($641.00 to be exact)
We are still working on this one. This loan is currently down to $450.00  We talked about just paying this off this month, but I, alas, did not do it.  I'm making this a priority for next month. 

3. Save enough money to replace Jolie's car by November 1, 2012 in cash!
We only were able to put a little in this fund this month.  We bought plane tickets for Alex to San Diego and then also paid for a hotel for our wonderful friend Lori's wedding in August.  Even with those two expenses, we are up to 24% of our intended target.  Slowly but surely!

Oh, Spring Break!

Spring Break started last Friday, and we are enjoying every minute!  Alex and I have both had the flu (think high fevers, achy icky feeling) for the past week and a half.  I finally went to the doctor on Friday for some meds, and I am well on my way to feeling better.  He is still coughing and icky feeling, but at least he is at work this week:-)  Last week he only made it 3 of the 5 days. 

We have a quiet week planned, and I am okay with that.  Monday we stayed home all day!  The kids and I played in our pop up tunnel, watched the rain, made cookies, folded some laundry, read books, and just plain lounged.  It was amazing!

Today the kids and I ran some errands this morning-things that have needed done for weeks that I just haven't had time to do.  Then we went to the library as a treat for Rowan.  He has been asking for a couple of weeks to go, and quite honestly, we just hadn't made it.  He made some great choices, and it was a fun little outing!  Since it was about noon, we ventured over to Alex's work to have some lunch with Dad.  The kids were great as we made our way to Henry T's for lunch, and Rowan was quite excited to see Alex since he was still sleeping when Alex left for work this morning:-)  It was amazing food, and even more amazing company.  I took the kids home and put Isla down for her nap.  Then Aunt Reesa came over for the afternoon for a showing of 101 Dalmations and some Candy Land!  It was fantastic, relaxing, and just plain why I love being a mom!

February Update

We are in month 2 of our 2012 goals.  We made some progress.  Progress is good!

1. Get PMI taken off of our Home Loan
We refinanced our house from 5% to 3.875%.  We also had it appraised and were able to get rid of our PMI insurance.  That means we freed up about $100.00 a month to go into our car fund!  Yeah!2. Pay off Alex's small student loan ($641.00 to be exact)
We are still working on this one. This loan is currently down to $499.85.  I need to just pay it off!3. Save enough money to replace Jolie's car by November 1, 2012 in cash!
We were able to put some money into this fund this month.  Yahoo!  We are up to 22% of what we want saved to purchase a new to us vehicle.  We'll keep plugging along, but it looks like we are on track for our November goal!

Isla Hope Turns 1!!!

"Presents-Yes Please!"

 Isla Hope turned 1 year old on December 6, 2011.  What a fantastic milestone for our sweet girl.  We often say, "Isla is perfect."  Quite frankly, she really is.  She still goes to bed at 6:15 each night, sleeps through the night, and is just all around fabulous.  Shortly after her birthday, she was off and walking as well.  My heart overflows with love for her, and I know her brother loves her as well.  They are starting to play more together.  Just tonight, Rowan was giving her Raspberries on her tummy, and she just laughed and laughed. 

Owl cupcakes were her treat.

This is yummy!

Isla ate most of her cupcake.  Look at that happy face:-)

Rowan Blane Turns 4!

Our sweet boy turned 4 this year. He was insistent on a Spiderman birthday party and a trip to Chuckie Cheese. Alex took Rowan to Chuckie Cheese in the afternoon and then that evening we celebrated Rowan Blane. Alex's parents were here, his sister, Reesa, and good family friends, Sheila, Kevin, Adam, and Lillian. We ate pizza, Spiderman cupcakes, and then spent the night opening presents. It was such a sweet party!

Rowan enjoyed his one-on-one time with Dad at Chuck E. Cheese.

A party also meant presents! He was blessed with many fantastic gifts. One of his favorite was the guitar from Uncle Tyler and Aunt Heather. We have all had lots of fun playing with it! He was playing behind his head in the picture. It was hilarious to watch.

Financial Goals 2012 Update

It has been a month since we started the new year. We have been working on some goals, but they just never exactly go in the order I would like:-) Here's the update!


1. Get PMI taken off of our Home Loan
We refinanced our house from 5% to 3.875% last week. I'm pretty excited about this as we also took it down to a 20 year loan. The bum deal was the rates dropped three days after we started the paperwork, so we had to pay a $250.00 relock fee for the lower rate. Boo! The appraiser is coming on Wednesday to see if we can in fact get rid of PMI. I'm quite excited for this!
2. Pay off Alex's small student loan ($641.00 to be exact)
We are still working on this one. This loan is currently down to $547.57. I'm thinking I'll just pay this off with our tax refund!
3. Save enough money to replace Jolie's car by November 1, 2012 in cash!
Nothing happened with this goal this month. With the relock fee and the appraisal fee, we didn't have the extra for this. I'm growing contentment with my car for now.