Countdown to Christmas

Wait, what? We just got done with Christmas! Why are we starting the countdown already?!

Apparently Tony and I are on an every other year financial trend of being awesome with our money one year and then completely losing it the next year. Rewind to Christmas 2012... we saved up at least a $1000 in cash and did not put a dime on our credit card... in fact, I think we had even paid off a few cards that year. Last month, Christmas 2013, was quite the opposite. Sure, I can blame it on maternity leave, our home purchase earlier in the year, career changes, etc. The fact is, we were lazy. We forgot to tell our money what to do. We forgot to give each dollar a job. 

Not this year baby!

What's the latest craze in savings? Among all of those New Year's Resolutions posts on the FB a few weeks ago, many of my friends were sharing this one:

(Not sure the original source since it's been shared so much!)

As you know, in the past I've typically stuck to the Dave Ramsey plan. But this year I've decided to branch out a bit and try a few other techniques and philosophies. Along with YNAB, I decided to try this challenge as well, but do it backwards! I wanted to get a running start and then have it impact my pocketbook less and less the closer we got to Christmas. And just an FYI, I don't plan on spending all $1378 on Christmas gifts, but it's nice to have the option and/or a financial cushion.

We just finished Week 4 and have $202 in our Christmas Fund!

I think we will be able to stay on trend... as long as this kid doesn't bust our grocery budget...

As we wrap up January, have you had any successes with your New Year's Resolutions? Or if you didn't make resolutions, did you have any small life victories this month to share?  

My Focus in 2014

Hi again! Sorry for the delay in posting. Life happened.

Remember when I posted about where to focus my New Year's Resolution energy? Two days before returning to work from maternity leave, I decided. Our family's finances are going to be my top priority for 2014.

I've said it before. We've worked the plan before. We've succeeded and failed before.

So what's different this year? Who knows. But I have high hopes and that's the best you can ask of a girl at the end of January, stuck in the "polar vortex" world of Minnesota.

Although we have used Dave Ramsey's method in the past, I have opted to try YNAB's method this year. Very similar with just a few strategic differences. And when I say "I have opted," I truly mean "I" and not "we." Tony is definitely on-board with budgeting and being smart with our finances, but he is more of the free spirit, as Dave would say. I am the budget nerd. As in, I've created a whole set of excel worksheets, merged into one giant document and titled it "Ultimate Financial Workbook." So I'll be driving this bus and I'm just hoping to stay motivated enough myself that Tony doesn't tuck and roll out the sliding doors or emergency hatch!

How have the first few weeks been going? Hmm... eye-opening would be the best term to describe it. More on this next time.

Personal finances have always been a taboo topic. My parents have very different views about money (probably one of the reasons they divorced) and I've always felt that talking about money is difficult with either of them. Then you have your friends... now that most of us have "real jobs" with real salaries, it's like a little tap dance around the nitty-gritty stuff. You don't want to step on anyone's toes and ask the big question, and often make over-exaggerated assumptions about what people are making and what they are spending their money (or credit cards, loans, etc.) on.

People say to avoid talking about politics. And money. Screw it... I'm talking this year!

Working on My Fitness

Well I'm officially back on the Zumba train and loving it! I've been going to Zumba off and on for several years now. It's an awesome workout. When I wore my HR monitor previously, I would on average burn about 500 calories per class. I have to find that HR thingy... ugh. My house is a wreck. You'd think it'd be spic and span from all this "time off" but I forgot how needy a newborn can be. But I'll take a needy newborn almost any day over a clean house. 

Source

Besides Zumba, I want to get back into yoga as well. I've also been doing yoga for years, including up until about the last month of pregnancy. I haven't done it in over three months and I'm missing it. I prefer to attend classes at the gym, but with two littles and one hockey-playing hubby, that's not always feasible. Does anyone have any yoga DVDs they recommend? Or any freebies on Netflix or YouTube? 

This year, I want to try weight lifting. I don't want to "hulk up" but I definitely want to tone up. I quickly made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight (yay!) but my clothes just aren't fitting quite right. I think a lifting program can help me get to where I want to be, body-shape-wise. If you have any recommendations on how to create my own program, or about lifting in general, please send them my way! I have done very little lifting in the past. 

PLEASE ignore my icky, un-manicured feet!!!

Before I started this new fitness journey, I wanted to do a little research about mixing it with breastfeeding. I plan to try to make it to a year with Charlee, but I'll be okay with anything longer than six months. Not much came in up in google when I was searching about weight lifting while breastfeeding. I tried reaching out to a couple online mama groups, so we will see. One thing I did keep encountering was plugged ducts from repetitive upper body movements. After talking with my midwife about starting to lift, she basically just said that I was good to go and to be very conscious of my core. She reminded me to keep it tight to support my back. She also told me that squats work just as well, if not better, than kegels! Good to know mamas!

I did find a few good things to remember while working on your fitness goals during breastfeeding from this website: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/nutrition-exercise-and-weight-loss/4. "Eat anything you want to in moderation, and remember that many mothers lose weight while lactating even without modifying their diet or exercise routine." and "You will usually keep about 3 pounds of extra tissue in your breasts as long as you are nursing, so factor that into your weight loss goals. Enjoy nursing your baby, eat a healthy diet, and you most likely will lose weight while eating more food than you were used to eating before your little one arrived." 

Finally, here is a cool calorie calculator I found that factors in breastfeeding: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/breastfeeding_calorie_calculator.htm. 

Although it would be nice to lose a few pounds, I'm comfortable with my number right now. In the past, I've lost the most weight through counting calories, NOT through exercise. To me, working out is more to shape my body, whereas eating right fuels my body and keeps the weight in check. So for now, I won't be counting cals. If my weight starts creeping up... I might change my mind. 

Source & Source

Stay tuned! 

What are your fitness goals for 2014? Have you tried weight-lifting? Any advice? 

Parenting

I'm not sure what direction this blog will eventually take (focusing on parenting, money, fitness, etc.) but I want to put a quick "disclaimer" out there. This quote pretty much sums up how I parent and learn about parenting. 

"The true joy of parenting comes when we are empowered and can follow our own inner voice of guidance. Keep your eyes open, become informed; consider all options, all styles of parenting. Then make decisions about what's right for you and your family."  - Tracy Hogg

Although I question myself often, I am not generally an anxious person and therefore, I try super hard to relax and let life happen, guiding my kids when possible but also letting them take the reins once in a while. 

For example... 

This morning, Brody and I had an impromptu dance party. He is quite the dancer, but today he wanted mama to hold him and dance. I indulged him and got a great little workout in too! We both had a blast.

Another example, Charlee was very sleepy today. We have been trying to use a three hour routine of eat, play, sleep, but today she just seemed to want to sleep. We went with the sleeping thing. I have less than a week left of maternity leave, I couldn't help it!

Finally, dinner. I applaud the mamas out there that can get organic, healthy, fancy-shaped food on the table EVERY night. We have dinner together almost every night. That's our best. It might be tacos, grilled cheese, or even frozen pizza... but we eat at home. Together. Someday we'll eat healthier. Maybe. If I can convince my husband ;)

To close, another awesome parenting quote I found recently gives advice about balancing a newborn and a toddler: 

"Be creative, patient, and hold tight to your sense of humor!" - KelleyMom.com

Weekend Recap - Bitter Cold Edition

If you're reading this, it means you are currently surviving this ridiculous winter. Good for you. Now, can we PLEASE get these temps, but without the negative sign in front??? My kid I am going stir crazy! So much so, that I took my one month old to church yesterday and then out for bagels... not my smartest mommy move but everything went fine. Except for the brief scream-cry episode when the boob wasn't immediately available because I had to take off about 17 layers first.

Let's stop talking about the weather. For real. I know we are Minnesotans and this is what we do, but everyone knows it's freaking cold. I don't need a screenshot of your phone. I have a weather app too. 

In other news, Brody will be TWO in less than a month. I wouldn't say he is a "terrible two" but it's a fine line. He is funny, very bossy, loud, talkative, somewhat short-tempered, loving, energetic, needs his alone time, and hesitant of new situations. Oh, and we really better start watching out mouths! It's so hard not to laugh when he repeats us! For example, just this morning, Tony was trying to put on his boots and mumbled something about how fat his feet are... and then Brody yelled "fat!" and laughed. Oops! What Daddy really meant to say was "These boots are hard to get the cute. chubby, baby feet that you still have."

Miss Mae (aka Charlee) has been spoiled during the holiday season! We have been spending the last few days working on sleeping on her own and getting into a routine. It was going really well... until today... when Brody is back at daycare and I thought I'd have time to get stuff done. Haha... silly mama... these babies must already be scheming against me!  Thank God for the Moby wrap.

Our weekend was pretty much spent doing whatever Brody wanted to do: playdoh, hockey, hiding in his tent, going up and down the stairs, and ELMO! I almost feel like something is missing today without the Sesame Street karaoke playing in the background. Almost.

We did get to have some adult fun after Brody went to bed. Friday night I went to my first Pure Romance party (eek!) and Saturday night we watched Hangover 3 (much better than #2).

Until next time... 

Eggs & Baskets

2014. 

The New Year.

Resolutions. 

Big Ideas. 

Promises. 

As I sit in my living room on this first day of 2014, I ponder all of the things I want to try. And then I think... I have too many baskets and not enough eggs. They say don't put all your eggs in one basket, but what if you have too many baskets? Am I even making any sense here? I guess what I am saying is that there are so many things I want to put effort into, that I can't seem to narrow it down. I don't want to do a bunch of things half-assed or maybe even quarter-assed. I want to do just one, two, or three things AWESOMELY (not a word, but who cares, grammar is not one of my top three "baskets"). But how do I choose? 

Here are a few things that come to mind when planning for 2014... 
* Financial - seriously crack down on debt, again
* Norwex - build my team and have consistent parties, aka actually make money (or do I just bail altogether on direct selling and if I want extra money, try something else???)
* Blogging - writing consistently, creating/following a theme, and maybe/possibly monetizing 
* House - keeping it clean, decorating, improving, and most of all fixing up the exterior
* Meal Planning - getting sick of the question, "what's for dinner?" as well as the almost daily trips to Target
* Fitness - I'm back at my pre-baby weight but I NEED to tone it up, I love Zumba and Yoga, but I'm thinking of incorporating some weight lifting
* Hubby - continuing to strengthen our relationship and making sure to connect daily (if only for a few minutes), have date nights, work as a team with the kids, and maybe even take a little vacay

* Brody - cut back on tv, add more easy crafts/learning play, go to the library, go on adventures
* Charlee - get into a good routine, teach her how to sleep on her own, breastfeed as long as possible, remember that she is her own person and she WILL be different than Brody
* So many more... Extended Family, Friends, Work, Photography, DIY/Crafts/Sewing/Baking, Book Club, MOPS, etc. 

Umm... can you see why I'm slightly overwhelmed??? Where should most of my focus be? How much is too much on a person's plate? Everything listed above are things that I enjoy, but I feel like I need to narrow down and focus a bit. 

Even with all of this being said, I am energized and excited for what is to come and my journey towards finding my focus! 

What are your goals/resolutions/ideas for 2014? How are you feeling about the start of another year?