The Budget & Life: Catching Up!

Motherhood is phenomenal. I can't say enough about the reward of caring for Xan and having him in our life. He's redefined everything in the most incredible way. I will speak honestly. It isn't at all the burden that I thought would scare me away from having children at any point. I was terrified in my 20's and into my 30's. Meeting John changed all the rules. And when we started talking about having kids I was honest about my fears. But knowing that we were doing this together finally sunk in. I wasn't doing this alone. And we dove in. Fact is... It's liberated me.

Let me explain. Before Xan I was a planner. Scheduled, organized and knew exactly where and what I was doing. When anything upset those plans (getting laid off, mistakes I made, or any proverbial wrench) I would sometimes tail-spin. It would really upset me as I tried so hard to get back on track. That 'track' is what I've learned, with Xan and John's help... doesn't mean jack. Not without them.


Now, my life is lived through tiny little eyes that coo and smile at me. The world disappears. The dishes that are calling, the floors that need to be swept, the laundry, the emails, the blog... They all dissolve when we are connected during tummy time or when he wakes up giggling! I'm not kidding... he's the happiest little baby and I'm so grateful for every moment. So grateful, so awed and intrigued that sometimes I cannot take my eyes off of him. I'm promised not to be a helicopter mom... But I'm so proud of him already! Obviously, if you're a facebook friend you see him growing everyday like I do. He amazes me every moment. That's his job right?

Obviously having the baby here makes a huge difference on our finances and free time. Diapers are expensive and so is formula. So we made some changes!

1. The Challenger is gone. Replaced by a used Jeep! 4x4 is good. The Challenger fetched a very pretty penny! The car payment and insurance reduced. No payment due until December as well!

2. I applied for WIC assistance. Through WIC I get free formula. This is a savings of almost $200 a month. Because John makes so little and I can't find a job that would pay more than the $8 an hour it would take to pay for daycare... ugh. I will continue to stay home. However, we still can't make ends quite meet. We are always a few hundred dollars short every month! Our utility bill hit a whopping $425 last month!! This month should be better. It's only been in the 90's so we haven't been running the air conditioner except in the peak hours. For WIC we meet the requirements just about twice! So we are extremely grateful for the baby groceries. It's sad that we had to go to formula. I tried breastfeeding and unfortunately my hormones dropped off very sharply after I gave birth. My milk never manifested into a good supply to my and Xan's disappointment. After several visits to a lactation consultant we decided on formula. Sigh.

3. The grocery bill (continued)... Wow, do we eat a lot of chicken. It is fairly cheap here. I can get organic chicken cheaper than a pound of beef. Odd seeing as we are the feedlot capitol here. But that also keeps John and I away from red meat. It's just well... hard to see where it comes from. The chicken is also easy to make in batches and kind of fits into every recipe easily. I've been shredding or chopping up in 2 cup portions. It works nicely. Menu to follow!!

4. We joined a CSA. We now get fresh organic vegetables delivered every Tuesday! It cost us $150 for 8 weeks. That is less than $20 per week for excess of 20 pounds of veggies. For example last week we received: onions, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, apples and a squash thing pictured below so maybe one of you can tell me what it is! Vegetables and fruit are expensive which I am sure you're all aware. So getting a delivery that I try to chop up and put into containers/ freezer each week takes a load off the grocery bill and like I mentioned... they are delivered!!

flat-ish... heavy of course.

eh? i might get brave and cut it open tonight!

5. I am walking every chance I get for little errands. Here in rural 'Merica where you must shop at Wal-Mart and the sidewalks always end... I've foraged out as much as possible for trips to the post office, bank, coffee shop and even to meet John for cheap taco lunches! Yes, I'm sure I'm known around town as the stroller lady or something weird! But I don't care. Not only does it save gas and miles on my car but it is helping me to get back into my pre-pregnancy shape. I'm not there yet... And I remind myself that it took 9 months to put the weight on... so I should be realistic and know it isn't all coming off in two months. But, that doesn't keep me from wishing it would!

I've been excited to type up these new recipes I've invented from the veggies I've been getting. And sharing a few little sinful indulgences that I make for John. Yes, I've tried a few. But again... I want my old jeans back! I have added some soups now that the weather is cooling off. I've also learned that biscuit dough is pizza dough. Seriously. It tastes great! Especially if you like softer dough. Here is this weeks menu!!

September 23 to 29