Day 4 of potty training was quite amazing. Kara didn't really have one accident. We were out for errands for two hours (hint: go grocery shopping BEFORE you begin potty training) and she didn't get wet. She insisted on wearing her underwear to nap, which I knew would be a problem, but since she needed a bath and her sheets needed washing, it all worked out. So it was a pretty painless process. And I got to spend lots of one-on-one time with her. I guess I'll go ahead and schedule the carpet cleaning I've been meaning to do. Well, maybe I'll wait just one week.
Jillian will be nine in less than two weeks. She's on the cusp of letting go of many of the things children believe in. I thought she was done with the Tooth Fairy, the believing part, not the money part. But this morning she was crying at the breakfast table about how the Tooth Fairy must not be concerned with her anymore, since she forgot to come and take her tooth. I shot dagger eyes at her father, who was the one home that night. It took a bit of talking to calm her down. I told her the Tooth Fairy was a very flighty fairy, and she didn't often remember things. I'm pretty sure I had to put my tooth under my pillow 5 times in a row once when I was young. Fortunately for everyone involved, I remembered at 12:23am that that darn tooth was under her pillow, found a $1 bill (so scarce in this house!) and helped the Tooth Fairy do her job. Who thought up this whole thing? I'd like them to be the one who remembers to pay my kid for losing a tooth.
Kyle did our taxes tonight. We were going through and putting in all of our donations and information. It was magical to see the amount of the refund go up. Somehow the University of Michigan conned me into donating to them TWICE last year, and BYU-Idaho got nothing. Sorry about that, former institution of higher learning. We didn't get some of the tax credits we qualified for in poorer years (darn income!), but I'm excited to see that money go toward paying off student loans. Begone, ye debt! Maybe by this time next year.
In an effort to keep the love alive, Kyle and I want to take a trip together every year. We have tentatively decided on Las Vegas in March, to coincide with the Mountain West Conference (MWC) basketball tournament. If you haven't been following college basketball, BYU has a great team this year and has been ranked as high as 10th. It would be fun to see them play in person. And we like good food, which Vegas has plenty of. But we're both having a hard time justifying the expense of going. When you add up plane tickets, paying for babysitters, meals out, a nice hotel, basketball tickets, and a rental car, it comes in at about $2,ooo. We could go up to Portland for 2 nights for a lot less. What to do, what to do. We really want to use our money wisely, and trips seem kind of frivolous. I guess we're not used to having money to spend on vacationing. We do have a vacation budget, by the way, and we didn't use much of it last year, so we have some extra. Any advice, sage readers?
Okay, I think I'll try to go to sleep now. I hope I can clear my mind of all the thoughts running through it, especially the ones about how I really need to clean my bathrooms, file a claim to get some health benefits paid, find Jillian that one specific Webkinz she wants for her birthday, get a haircut, and finish volunteer work for the school library.
Nighty night!
8 comments:
Well, if you're going to spend $2000 on a vacation, I would suggest something a little more exotic, like a cruise, Hawaii or Mexico. That's about how much we spent on Hawaii and I had WAY more fun there than in Vegas.
Whoa. Did Moose really only spend $2,000 on Hawaii? Go there! Or to Vegas. Just to!
Go! Go! Go! don't hesitate! Money shmoney! It's all about the memories and if that is what you guys want to do then you will have no regrets!
It was fun to read your blog. Go to Vegas, and the basketball game. You guys are smart with your money, memories are priceless!
We've had some good times at that tourney, and if you have the money saved up you might as well spend it! If you wanted to do something a little less extravagant, you could do something on the Oregon coast. I'm thinking about planning a small anniversary get-away in April and have found a few fun places on the coast. The main thing is that you spend the time together, right?
You should go on a fun trip together, maybe somewhere warm, Mexico?! Can't wait to hear the plans:) Let's hang out and be crafty!
Good for you for working to pay off your debt. I'm impressed you'll have no student loans by next year. And I would highly recommend a cruise or trip to Mexico. Clint and I went to a fabulous all-inclusive place last year for not too much money and it was heavenly. I guess there's no basketball there, though. But Vegas?! That's one place we really, really don't like. Clint won't even stop there for gas on our way to California. :)
Uhhh. . .my vote is totally for Vegas! If you're interested in saving money, we have a spare bedroom (with an actual bed, not an air mattress). But, I'm also all for getting rid of debt. It's a beautiful feeling!
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