First shots

Raegan got her first shots on August 19th. She screamed for about 2-3 minutes then I held her and she was automatically calmed. Poor baby :(. I also found out she's quite a bit ahead in her social development. She's trying to talk and the doctor said you usually see that kind of interactive communication around 4-5 months. Everyone thinks their child is awesome do I didn't think anything of get babbling other than it being adorable but I think we may have a social butterfly on our hands. Like her mama ;). 

I budget like its my JOB.

As a new homeowner, new mother and new wife I have a lot on my plate but I am also our family's chief financial officer! As stressful as that can be at times, I have a few strategies that help me stay on budget:

1. We don't charge. My husband and I do not have credit cards because we feel that spending our own money is one good way of increasing fiscal responsibility. What would we do in an emergency? Well, we have the option of taking out a home equity line if it were a BIG emergency but we also save a little bit (sometimes its only 20 dollars) each month for car repairs, air conditioner tune ups, and vet bills because our Doxie has more health problems than a 90 year old. 

2.  We have specific spending/saving accounts. I have set up 3 main accounts for us which are: spending account, bill account and savings account. Our spending account is ONLY used for groceries, gas and extras like a movie or dinner (which are rare) and this money is ONLY what we have left over after we deposit into our bill account. Our bill account has a set amount transferred into it each pay period to cover the bills ( ComEd, Nicore, mortgage, insurance, garbage, water, cable, Internet etc.) all of my bills come out automatically so I never worry about missing a payment. My savings account also has a set amount transferred into it FROM MY BILL ACCOUNT. I treat saving like an obligation or necessity rather than an option. 

3. Perhaps the biggest component of my budgeting is my balance forecasting app. This app allows you to enter all if your bills, the dates they're due and it allows you to see what your balance in your account will be months in the future. I only use the app for my bill account because I don't do any unplanned spending from this account. 

I do have a few golden rules of budgeting:

* I don't EVER transfer out of my bill account into my spending account. I have very little wiggle room in my bill account so doing so would mean missing a payment. 

* I check my bank account at least once a day to make sure all goes as planned. I have been stuck in a situation where my account automatically transfers sooner than I thought it would and who likes having their debit card declined when you KNOW you have money... its just another account? Not me! So I try and check every day to avoid such situations.

* saving is MOST important. It's the most important "bill" I have. If you are constantly in a balancing act between debt and profit, it creates a lot of stress. Believe me, I DO NOT HAVE MONEY TO SAVE but I make sacrifices so that what little money we do have, we put away even if its only 10 or 20 dollars. 

Postpartum weightloss progress

I am 8 pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight and 22 pounds away from my goal weight. I can't credit this to anything but breastfeeding and being too busy to eat sometimes but I will be working in workouts in the near future! 

Raegan's first trip to the fair!!!

We now live in a new county so we decided to check out they're county fair. We had a great time and Rae got to see lots of sheep and bunnies! We got deep fried Oreos (which are the 8th deadly sin) and oh my god. Just now, I remembered we got donuts from the fair!!!! It's like Christmas!!! I'm going to have coffee and a donut and watch my baby sleep :)

Ps 4th night in a row that she has slept through the night!!!!

Things I can't live without right now

There are a few things (motherhood related and not) that I'm obsessed with lately. Here they are:

1. Elf studio baked bronzer. It's $3.00 and it creates a healthy glow that also masks skin imperfections (have to closely match your face to get the best "masking") I use St. Lucia.

2. My Boppy. I use it for breastfeeding & everything else

3. Mrs. Meyer's countertop spray in Basil. I can't get

 enough of this stuff! It smells awesome and it makes your counter shine!

4. Burt's Bee's baby oil. It makes your skin so soft with a soft smell as well. 

5. Special K Pastry Delights in chocolate. They're delicious. They're also great for a quick bite in between breastfeeding and whatever else I'm doing. 

God has tailored current fashion trends to my postpartum body

I just have to give a shout out to today's current fashion trends. It just so happens that as I'm coming to terms with losing my post pregnancy pooch BOOM high-waisted pants come back! As I'm trying to disguise my body yet enjoy the beach, BAM two pieces, circa 1920's reappear and give my midriff a flattering hiding place! Flowing tops? My arms say thank you very much and who can forget the fact that its all if a sudden fashionable to let your roots grow out and call it ombré? Well I'll take it! So thank you fashion gods, for smiling upon my post pregnancy woes.