So I didn't do better...

I try and sometimes I fail, but at least I try.  That is what I tell myself when I don't finish something I started.  One of those things is keeping up with this blog, but here I go again.

So what have I been up to?  A lot!  Pre-school has come to our home and Maya is loving it! To help cut the cost I have been working in their nursery 1 day a week for a discount on our tuition and this also lets Maddie socialize with other kids.  Maya's teacher is a cross between a favorite grandmother and Mary Poppins which makes for one wonderful person, teacher and mentor for the kids to look up too.   Maddie is starting to crawl and is sitting up on her own now.  Both good things but just adds another thing for me to watch out for.  The hubby is almost finished with his Masters degree in Information Assurance (May 2011) but has another year till he has his MBA (May 2012).  The good news is that he will promoted to MSgt (E-7) in either December of January and with that more money to help with the strained budget.

As for me, I have caught up on our digital scrapbooks and I have finished Maya's second year traditional scrapbook.  I love being able to work on these, but they can be so time consuming at times and the traditional books can get expensive.  The good thing about the digital scrapbook is that there are wonderful websites out there with FREE material for personal use.  They have everything you need and even offer complete pages that you just add your pictures too.  God, I love those!  The only down side to the digital scrapbooks is not having something physical to show.  I know I can always print them out, but it still isn't the same. 

As for Christmas, I am almost finished with our shopping!  I have Maya done, the nieces, nephews and other children completed, and just a few things left to pick up for Maddie.  I have no clue what to get for J, but hopefully inspiration will strike before time runs out...

Well, until next time (when ever that may be)...

Determined to do better...

Well Easter has come and gone, along with another pay check.  It seems that no matter how I try to budget, we end up overspending and I can't seem to stop it.  Last month, we over spent by $600 and it wasn't even on any one big thing.  We got the girls portraits done, went to a show for our anniversary, and bought Maya's birthday presents.  While all of these are valid expenses, there is no excuse for overspending that much.  Now that I've seen how much we went over last month, I'm determined to do better this month, but things are already sliding.  While we did good sticking to our grocery list and saving almost $30 in coupons, we still spent over $200 on that trip.  On top of that, the $100 I made from participating in a market study was spent on eating out instead of saving it or using it like we planned and get Maya her spring wardrobe. We also had $600 in car expenses and still need new tires.  So now, I have Maya's birthday to finish up, her wardrobe to buy, new tires and a visit from J's family coming up in May to figure out...

Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, we did have a lot of fun.  As said earlier we went to Bunnyland to play some and have an egg hunt.  That was a blast and Maya loved it.  That night, J and I went to Medival Times for our anniversary and while the show wasn't that great, the food was okay, the wine was better, and a night out without the kids was perfect.  I do have to admit thought that I'm starting to feel old.  We had a babysitter all night and we were still have by 9:30.  After that we had a pretty routine week that ended with a visit from a certain bunny and dinner at my dad's house.  We had a little egg hunt for the kids, soccer and bubbles followed by dinner with most of the local family there.  Now back to our normal life and hopefully we can end the pay period in the black or at least not too far in the red.

Acting like a kid

The best part about being a parent is getting to act like a kid.  This weekend we took Maya and Maddie to Bunnyland at Butler's Orchard (http://www.butlersorchard.com) and we had a great time.  Maya got her face painted, we all got to pet bunnies and look at newly hatched chicks, J and Maya rode the giant slides and then we hunted for Easter eggs.

My Family

I guess if you are reading this then it might be nice to tell you who we are.

I'll start with my self. I'm Trish and as you know, I'm a stay at home mom. I used to work for the DoD as an office administrator. I was working there when I meet my husband (more about him later) and fell in love. That love lead to marriage which has so far moved us from Maryland to Texas to Washington DC and produced 2 beautiful little girls. My life revolves around my family but when I get a few minutes to my self, I try to read or scrapbook and now update this blog. My life is pretty routine just trying to give my kids what they need and be here to support my hubby.

As mentioned above, J is my husband. He is active duty military which is a big part of our lives. He has been serving his country for almost 15 years now and is planning on putting in 20 year and retiring to the civilian side of life. Currently he is working on his Master's Degree so his time is tight, but we think in the end it will be worth it. When he does have free time, he is wonderful with the girls and they both adore him.

Maya is our 3 year old. She is all attitude and sass right now and her favorite word is "NO!". When she isn't trying to rule the household, she is running around trying to get everyone to play with her. Recently we have started her in tumbling classes and she has fallen in love with it. We go every Saturday morning and I think it is the highlight of her week. When she isn't flipping and being bossy, she is a wonderful big sister to Maddie.

Maddie is our new born. Currently she is 2 months old and doesn't really do much except eat and sleep, but that is okay for now. We think she is going to end up with a ton of personality and hopefully will be the calm next to Maya's storm.

Well that is my family. Now that everyone is up to date on who we are, let's get this blog started.

Bottles and Budgets

Bottles and Budgets are the two main things I do right now. In case you don't know me, I'm a stay at home mom to 2 wonderful little girls, Maya and Maddie. When I quit my job after Maya was born, it was decided that I would have two main responsibilities, the household budget and taking care of the baby (and her bottles). So far it seems to be working well and I have even learned a few tips on saving money here and there and think that I have become a better mother than I could of ever hoped.