The Price of Nesting

So it seems the start time for remodeling our basement has moved up by nearly two months. Rather than beginning in late February or early March the contractors may be able to squeeze us in the first week of January. That means stepping up my game and digging everything out of the basement much earlier … Read more

The Christmas Rundown

I spent so much time organizing the house that Christmas became a bit of an after thought. With the big day approaching I buckled down, bought gifts and checked off names on our rather short list. So far I’ve managed to keep the costs to a minimum. While I didn’t shop on Black Friday I … Read more

The Things We Keep

My nesting obsession continues to haunt me. When my son was born I had absolutely no idea what to expect. This time around I know there is a good chance that I’ll be absolutely exhausted for those first two to three months. Three years ago I exclusively nursed and my son was not a good … Read more

Drug Store Frustrations

I drove to the drug store to pick up my prenatal vitamin refill on December 1st. I hoped to pick it up on November 30th, the last day before my health insurance renewed, but the idiotic pharmacy failed to fill it on time. They claimed this particular vitamin was out of stock when I called … Read more

Avoiding the Urge to Spend Money By Counting My Blessings

So far I’ve managed to avoid the plethora of store emails streaming into my inbox. I’m deleting the majority of unread feeds in my reader too. Fifty percent off, free shipping, buy-one-get-one and every other type of sale tactic in between flashes on my screen, but so far I haven’t pulled out my credit card … Read more

thoughtless gift giving

Thoughtless Gifts: Disappointed by Cheap Gifts

How do you respond to thoughtless gift giving? I spend a lot of time choosing gifts for others, but I feel like one particular person spends little to no time choosing gifts for me. Should I continue searching for the perfect gifts or resort to buying thoughtless gifts as they do for me? Thoughtless Gift … Read more

Maternity Clothes: Dreading Winter

My son was born in October, which means my belly didn’t start blossoming until late spring/early summer. That was a great time to be pregnant because I didn’t need to waste a lot of money on maternity clothes. I found a bunch of inexpensive summer dresses and billowy tops and wore them while I was … Read more

Nesting Progress

As I clean out the house in preparation for our new little bundle of joy I am perpetually amazed by the sheer amount of stuff that exists within the confines of our walls. Every time I revisit the closets, dressers and drawers in my house I find something else that can be dragged off to … Read more

Nesting: The Second Time Around

I love second trimester nesting! I’m currently twenty-one weeks pregnant and suddenly feel a compulsive need to clean the house, remove all the clutter and organize everything. I started in the kitchen, moved to the dining room, tried my best to wrangle the chaos that is our living room and then moved upstairs. I don’t … Read more

I Cannot Imagine a Scenario Where I Won’t Owe $3000

After publishing my last post about my insurance coverage I realized we will definitely max out next year’s medical deductible. I suppose all that worry over squeezing in prescriptions and doctor’s visits was rather pointless. According to the medical records my son’s birth cost $8,400. The hospital billed my insurance company $4000 and the obstetrician … Read more