Dry Night

Blake, for the last few nights, had been insisting on taking his diaper off to go pee in the toilet. Very annoying for us, because we had to then put it back on and deal with his whining.

Well, after a bit of debate (we're leaving for vacation in less then a week), we decided to let him sleep in underwear. He loved the idea. And what's more, this morning, he woke up dry!

I guess he was ready.

Now lets hope that vacation doesn't ruin it.

The Money Book

My husband, who is self-employed, came across a book on a financial blog geared toward those of our kind. It's called The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed: The Only Personal Finance System for People with Not so Regular Jobs.

Since I am the one who does the finances in our house, I had already come to realize that the traditional methods of saving weren't the ideal method for us. When your income flow is unpredictable, it's hard to save x amount predictably. So, I was interested, and, after reading the reviews, decided to get it.

I must say, I like it. It's easy to read and understand, and the authors use civilized humor which makes the reading enjoyable as well.

The plan works off of percentages instead of flat sums, really, really, really emphasizes prioritizing emergency savings, taxes, and retirement as well as paying off debt, and helps you find ways of prioritizing and saving for other things you want. It does all of this while understanding where the self-employed, etc are coming from (a non-stable income flow, business taxes/deductions, lack of good/any medical coverage, absence of a 401K, etc.).

Also, being a homeschooling mom, I thought about how I would like my kids to know these things. After all, don't most high school/college students fit into this category? Babysitting? Working at McDonalds? Lifeguarding over the summers? These aren't exactly stable, benefits producing jobs, but they can learn how to save according to their earnings. And, what's more, the percentage of people who fit into this category is growing rapidly. The odds are that our kids will be faced with this kind of work at some time or other in their adult careers.

In any case, especially if you fit this category of employment and even if you do not, I think it is a very enlightening and helpful read.

Summer Project

I'm almost done. Almost. Just a bit of touching up here and there. . . .

Here's the before:

Three weeks, 13 tubes of caulk, 8 rolls of blue tape, 6 gallons of paint, 1 gallon of primer, and over 50 man hours later, I've got this:

Big difference.

Sierra Made Pancakes

Ever since Blake was born, Sierra has been in charge of making her own breakfast and Bailey's. SHe used to just do cereal for the both of them, dumping it in a bowl and adding milk. Last year I taught her how to boil water so that they could have instant oatmeal and hot chocolate.

Well, this morning I supervised while she learned to make pancakes for the first time. I showed her where to turn the temperature on the stove to, had her measure out the pancake mix and water, stir it, spray the pan with cooking spray, and make the pancakes. She did a really good job. I was impressed, and the kids were thrilled to have something different for breakfast.

Yay Sierra!