White Sox Mom

Let me start by saying, apparently I'm a slacker and I never got a blog post up on Thursday. Oops!

We found out on Wednesday evening that Keegan would be playing for the White Sox for Little League Minors Baseball. I'm excited to see him play and I feel indifferent about the team. While I would definitely prefer the Red Sox, White Sox will have to do in this circumstance! lol.

It wasn't until a few days ago that I even knew that "Little League" was an actual league. Talk about an ah-ha moment. I've heard the terms "Cal Ripken" and "Babe Ruth," but I never realized there were actual leagues that made them different. I just assumed that they were age groups, or just adopting those names because of sponsorship or something. I was clueless about youth baseball. Really, we have only ever been in one soccer league. I've seen some flag football and tee-ball leagues before, but I've never actually been associated with one of those leagues. Did any of you realize that those three were completely different leagues? Have your kids ever played in one of them? Does anyone know what makes them different?

Anyway, we had team pictures today and the coach and team mom were asking about volunteers. I decided to speak up and opted to help the team mom with whatever she needed. Keep in mind that I have no idea what a team mom is supposed to do. Hopefully she can help me with that. She says this is her first year doing it on her own and that she was the assistant last year. Does anyone know what a team mom does? Has anyone ever been in the team mom, or assistant team mom position before? 

I'm ready to see where this stage in our life takes us and I'm definitely open to suggestions or advice from anyone. Like I said I basically clueless when it comes to youth baseball! Until next time, leave any and all advice or comments down below. Please!

Hugs!

Week Two Check In

First, let me start by saying that I did not work out a single day last week.

I know, I know, I should have - but my sister was staying with us and I just couldn't find the time and motivation to do so. She left Valentine's Day morning so this week I will be on my grind to get into a real routine.

When I did my measurements this week I was expecting it to be all bad. I did gain .75 inches overall, but I thought it would be much worse. Getting myself into the routine of working out 5 days a week has been difficult for me. Even with an online support group, I still find myself struggling. It's just not the same as having someone workout with you and push you to do that extra minute of cardio or five more push ups when you are ready to throw in the towel. My husband is that partner some days, but others he is exhausted after working a super long work day and commuting an hour each way - which is 1000% fine with me, but it doesn't make it any easier when I really just wanna shower and snuggle with him.

I should be the motivation I need to be for myself, but I'm still struggling to find that each day. The way I feel about how I look in the mirror should be motivation enough every day to fix it, but it's not because I just avoid the mirror instead. I will get there. I need to believe that I am worth it. I AM WORTH IT.   

What do you do to help keep you on track? I'd love to hear about it below.

Hugs!

Budgeting

Let me preface this post by saying, I am definitely not an expert on this topic and I've been struggling like crazy since we decided that I would be staying home to work out a budget that is right for us.

Mike and I have been discussing getting out of debt so that we can buy a house for quite a while, but we haven't taken the steps to do so yet. Beginning this month we've decided to start the journey using mostly Dave Ramsey's method to do so. It really seems like the best/most logical way to do so.

We actually watched this video on YouTube together -  there is also a book called The Total Money Makeover that you can get to explain the method in much greater detail.

If you aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey's method I'll explain it briefly. His method works on baby steps - very similarly to those on a ladder. You do not go to the next step, until you complete the current step. I should also add that if you aren't making your bills now, you should stop and re-evaluate your money to try to come up with a budget that you can stick to before you start the baby steps! Make sure all of your money has a place and none of it is "free" money. If you want to allot $50/month to hobbies, then that gives it a purpose. Now on to the steps.

Baby Step 1 is to get a $1,000 Emergency Fund as soon as possible. With tax season, right around the corner, this step should be easy enough for some people. This money should NOT be easily accessible, but you should be able to get to it if you needed it for a catastrophe.

Baby Step 2 is paying off all of your debt using the Debt Snowball. Meaning, you should list all of you debts from smallest to largest and pay at least the minimum payment to all of them. Any extra money should go to the smallest debt so you can pay it off first. Once it is paid off you take that dollar amount and move it to the next one up the list, and so on, until you have them all paid off except the highest. Basically any money you are no longer paying to a paid off debt IS NOT free money and should move to another debt to help you pay more off faster. Really this is common sense, but some how we completely missed it. *(insert eye roll here)*

Baby Step 3 is to get 3-6 months of expenses in your savings account. This is where buying a house comes into it. He says not to buy a house until you have completed this step and get a mortgage that is only a quarter of your monthly income.

Baby Steps 4-6 should be completed at the same time. Contradictory right?! Except not so much, because when you see what they are it makes sense.

Step 4 is to invest 15% of your income towards retirement. Simple enough.

Step 5 is to save for your kids' college education. Dave suggests an ESA, or education IRA, because they are TAX-FREE and you can add $2,000 per year. For us, this is a very important step. We want to be able to help our children pay for college without struggling.

Step 6 is to pay off your house early! Every bit of money that you have that doesn't already have a purpose, should go to paying your house off. He says DO NOT keep a mortgage for the tax deduction. When you do the math, it just isn't smart.

Number 7 is a no brainer for us. Build wealth and give. To quote Mr. Ramsey, wealth is not an escape mechanism, it is a tremendous responsibility and you should have three types of money when you make it to this step - Fun, Invest & Give money. Do the right thing and share the wealth.

Who else is on the path to being debt free this year? What methods are you using? Have you tried the Dave Ramsey method? I'd love to hear your thoughts below!

Hugs!

Tasty Thursday!

I'm back this week with our menu. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for remembering to come back and post it!

Any who, without further ado here's what we have had so far this week:

Monday - Pizza & Salad at Mike's mom's
Tuesday - Pork Chops with Rice & Broccoli
Wednesday - Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Veggies

Tonight we are having leftovers and then the rest of the week will be as follows:

Friday - Ribs with Stir Fry Veggies
Saturday - Hamburgers & Hot Dogs from the Grill with something on the side
Sunday - Likely leftovers, but maybe I'll make something special for Valentine's Day!

What's on your menu? What's your favorite dish? I'm always looking for something new to make. Leave me a comment down below!

Hugs!

Week One Update!

Today I'm back with my week one update!

Last week I lost a total of 1.5 inches. I lost .5" on my chest, waist and thighs. My hips and arms stayed the same. Overall that is exactly what I expected. My diet was not the best this week and I slacked on my workouts. 

I had intended to workout five days this week, but I only actually worked out three. I was too tired or just didn't want to some of the other days. I really feel like this is what I need to work on. In addition to having some really eh days, I also have my sister in town for a visit and we all had ice cream. It was such delicious ice cream too. 

I foresee this week being difficult, because I'm going to want to eat treats and will probably not make the best choices since we have a visitor in our house - but we will see. Hopefully, I will resist and make better decisions. 

You can find this week's short, and sweet, video update here on my YouTube channel. It's a very impromptu vlog-style video because the baby was asleep (and I'm still trying to get the hang of it), but it's there nonetheless. I would love it if you subscribed and left me some feedback.

Check back Thursday for a budgeting blog on how we are going to be working on getting out of debt!

Hugs!

Meal Planning & Tasty Thursdays?

I am terrible at actually sticking to a meal plan when I make one - which makes us spend far too much money on food some months. I mean some days, I just don't want to cook, and some days I just don't want to make the same things!

Then, it came to me. I can add a weekly meal plan to the blog and maybe others can chime in on what they are making to give me ideas! I think I will call it 'Tasty Thursday" and try to post my weekly menu each week on Thursdays!

Here's our menu for the current week:

Monday - Chicken & Rice with Veggies
Tuesday - Boneless Ribs, Rice & Broccoli
Wednesday - Cube Steak with Salad
Thursday - Pita Pockets
Friday - Pork Chops, Yellow Rice & Veggies
Saturday - Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Sunday - Leftovers / Possibly eating out!

What's for dinner at your house this week? I would love to hear in the comments below.

Time to Get Fit!

My weight has always been something that I have struggled with. I can't remember a time when I was 100% happy with how I looked. I have definitely been more comfortable in my skin than I am right now - but I have also been less comfortable as well. I've been especially lax with my food intake since I've had Bodhi and I've been breastfeeding, therefore I've not taken off all of my baby weight.

To the right here, you see the before picture I took yesterday morning. It definitely took a lot for me to post it here and make myself feel vulnerable and open to scrutiny. Shortly after I took these pictures, I got out my measuring tape. I was not happy with where I am there either, but I wasn't surprised either. I mean, when you eat as many sweets as I have been, you are definitely going to pack on the pounds, and inches.

I'm currently not at the biggest I've ever been, but here is a promise to myself to not get to that point again. I'm a rather short girl, only 5'3" ish, and chubby is not flattering at all on me.

I've decided to take weekly videos documenting my journey this time. You can find the link to it here. I would love to hear what you think or have you join in on the journey! Women are better together!

Hugs!