We're movin' out!

We have decided its finally time to move out of our parents' and into our own place. We found an apartment we both really like in Sumner, WA. Sumner is a small town with only one ward, low crime rates and lots of parks. In fact, there is a park directly across the street from our 4-plex. There is a station for the Sounder commuter train about a mile from us so Jon will walk to that each morning for work. We both feel really good about living in this area and I'm super excited to be on our own again. 

Now that we have an apartment and a move in date of June 1 we need to get our stuff out of storage in Maryland and into our new place. It's bittersweet because now that we are actually bringing our stuff back to the west coast it means we'll be here for a while and won't be going back to the east coast for a while (maybe a long while). I loved our time in the DC area and I hope that one day we'll be able to move back (and that our awesome friends will still be there). But for now I'm just glad that we are settling down somewhere for a while, no more unknown. 

Because we are moving out AND shipping our stuff home from MD we have to wait on getting a new (to us) car. We took our car into the shop for a much needed tune up before we took a 3 hour trip to eastern Washington. Well, turned out that the car needed more than just a tune up, more like $2300 worth of more than just a tune up! The car isn't even worth that much, to me. It's hard to decide what's most important when it needs ALL new brakes and rotors, it has a cracked front axel, as well as needing new spark plugs and wires. There are several major oil leaks and many other fixes that I don't even remember because there's not much I can do about it anyway. Jon doesn't seem to be too concerned about the safety of driving it, for now. We both agree that it's probably a money pot and not worth fixing, at least completely. I think we're going to get the brakes fixed and decide from there. Oh and the timing belt is so tight and oil is leaking on it that if it gets too hot then It'll just snap. Did I mention we've been having beautiful 70-80 degree weather lately?

The good news, we're moving out! It's been in the 70-80's lately and will be for the next week. Someday in the not too distant future I will be getting a minivan! :)

He's just cute :)

Cousins

These boys need a haircut!

Here's the latest

My sister went to New York City with my nephew, Tyler, for his concert choir trip. While she was gone she let me borrow her minivan. She's very generous. It was awesome having a minivan for almost a week! Jon was able to take the car to the light rail station which is a shorter commute which means he would leave later and we could have breakfast together. Which also meant he would get home sooner and could take care of the kids while I made dinner. I loved how high up I sat and how much easier it was to get the kids in and out of their carseats. Plus it was a smooth ride and so much more fun to drive. So basically now I really want one, but i must wait. In the meantime I will appreciate my sisters generosity in allowing me the privilege of driving her minivan and I will also appreciate that I have a vehicle to drive instead of relying on public transportation with two little ones.

Asher has recently found his voice. In other words, he screams like a banshee... for fun. It's awesome, especially at the dinner table.

Judah sat quietly and most of the time with his arms folded through sacrament meeting with just a few promptings from me to sit down and be quiet. I was very proud. I feel like that's quite an accomplishment for a 2 1/2 year old. Plus, he didn't even take a nap that morning! (Church starts at one so I try to get him to take a nap around 10am or 11am for a bit). I was very proud.

I found this blog, http://refashionista.net/, about a girl that has decided to refashion donated clothes destined for landfills into wearable garments that will be donated with proceeds going to a women's shelter. I was totally inspired. Now I'm excited to take a tailoring ready-to-wear class from craftsy.com so I can tailor clothes that I find from the thrift store into fashionable (wearable) clothes.

We have now received a couple of pay checks from Jon's new job. It amazes me how he can make three times what he was making before this job and yet we still can't afford to live on our own. Hopefully we haven't completely driven our parents crazy because it looks like we'll be staying with them for a while longer. Good thing our kids are so cute (and loud, and messy).

Speaking of cute kids...

"I wanna hold Asher. Take a picture!"

Judah will every once in a while ask to hold Asher and I guess I have conditioned him to want to have his picture taken because he always says "take a picture!" I love it because I want to take a picture anyway, and if he wants it then he's more likely to hold still for the picture... more likely but it's not a guarantee.

I think it's funny that Asher is so big he nearly squishes Judah. And I love that Judah loves his little brother. Sometimes he'll say "hello little brother". Or just keep saying baby baby baby in a real sweet high pitched voice. I can't wait for them to be able to play together... except that I can wait for Asher to crawl and then walk and get into everything (although I wouldn't mind not having to hold the chunk so much, my back could use the break!).

These are the most recent pictures I've taken when Judah asked to hold Asher.

Results of No Spend Month

I think overall we did pretty well at not spending money unnecessarily. There were several times that we would say to each other, or ourselves, it's No Spend Month we shouldn't buy this. Towards the very end I think we could have been a little more diligent but we did end up saving money. It wasn't as drastic as I was expecting (hoping). We ended up going over our gas budget by $7 but we also had to drive out to West Seattle and Jon had to drive to downtown Seattle for an interview, and gas prices are just ridiculous!

Jon spent $5 on fast food but he was buying food for my mom because she did something for him and it was his way of repaying her, or something like that.

We only spent $95 of the budgeted $150 for groceries.

I had to go over my $50 budget for baby supplies by at least $9 but probably more because I needed diapers for both boys at both houses (my parents and Jon's parents), go figure. Plus, we got the flu and I wasn't able to eat anything for a few days which decreased my milk supply significantly causing me to supplement with formula which meant I needed to buy bottles and formula of course. Asher is now mostly formula fed, added expense!

We spent $11 on auto parts.

And then of course there were like 4 birthdays this month. At first I was just going to say sorry we can't buy any gifts for you because it's our no spend month but I had already said I would get my niece Taygen new shoes and then my sister-in-law Julie threw a surprise birthday party for my brother at a bowling alley and we couldn't just go and not participate (well we could have, but we didn't. Actually Jon sat out but I played and Judah was free). Anyway, we ended up spending around $43 on gifts/bowling.

Obviously, we still payed our bills. But above and beyond our budget and things we didn't anticipate, we spent about $75.

But by not spending money on things we usually budget for or spending less we saved about $220. Not to mention the money saved on things we chose not to buy because of no spend month.

I'm happy with our results :)

*And on a very exciting note, Jon was offered a job!! Finally after like 3 months and 4 interviews Jon was offered a position as a benefit analyst for an insurance company in downtown Seattle. A friend in our ward submitted his résumé and put in a good word for him. It's not in his field obviously but at this point (10 months after graduating from grad school) we are just happy to have a good paying job with benefits so we can start paying down student loan debt and feel like we can be independent again. Things are looking up :)

My new idea

I have been reading my library books, one of them being 'In CHEAP We Trust' by Lauren Weber. It gives a history of frugality in the United States. It's interesting and funny. I especially enjoyed the chapter called 'Eco-cheap'. I learned a lot about Americans and our over consumption, how we consume the world's raw materials far out of proportion to our numbers. I guess I knew this but as I read statistics it put it more into perspective for me. I'd like to quote a paragraph:

"The environment sensibility and the thrifty sensibility share an abhorrence of one thing: waste. It comes down to a fundamental respect for the value of objects. This is a trait that's hard to come by in our throwaway society, perhaps because we're so disconnected from the origins of our possessions and the people who labored to make them. A kitchen table becomes something more when our own hands sanded it down; a wool sweater knitted by a friend has greater value than one that was made on a machine loom in Vietnam and picked up for a low price at Macy's."

I've always liked the idea of DIY projects but this brings it to another level for me. It's more then just saving money, it's making an impact on the environment and doing my part to make a difference.

The book talks about a challenge one lady decided to do for a year to experiment in low-impact living. She would buy no new stuff, no new clothes, no new gadgets, no new books, and so on. She could buy anything she wanted secondhand, and she could still buy food, medicine, safety-related items, and services like concert and train tickets. The main idea was to reduce her consumption of stuff, all those tangible things that clutter the house, consume raw materials, and eventually take up residence in landfills.

I've actually talked to Jon recently about living a minimalistic lifestyle and downloaded a book called 'Family-Sized Minimalism'. I like the idea of living minimally and I think we could make it work for us. The problem is I have so many ideas but its hard to implement these ideas or new ways of living when you don't live on your own. There's so much I want to do or try but I don't feel like I can until we are on our own, in our place where we can establish rules and routines.

But just like No Spend Month I think we can try this challenge of no new items for... well I don't know about a year, I'll have to discuss it with Jon first. But why not, we can do a year! Shouldn't be too hard since we don't really have any extra money anyway. But it's a way of thinking, it's meant to change the way you think about the environment and how much waste we create by buying new things. I'm fine with buying used items, I'm always looking at Craigslist for a Kitchenaid mixer because I want one so bad! I'd be happy with a used one.

Some of the ideas I would like my family to do in general for saving money and the environment include: building our own tiny house, or buying an old fixer upper and doing the work ourselves, growing a garden and raising chickens, extreme couponing (I watched on the TLC show, a 14-year old girl and a college kid living in a dorm do it, I can do it! Although I have yet to see anyone with a baby or a toddler on the show). Following Dave Ramsey's guide to financial freedom (or at least creating a budget and eliminating debt), living minimally, making as much food from scratch as well as making my own laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo/conditioner, cleaning products, etc. I think we can live without cable or maybe even a TV since we currently do not own one (that is when we eventually live on our own we will not have one). I would like to go down to one car again. I want to take a class to learn how to alter store-bought clothes (thrift-store-bought). There are other ideas I can't think of right now, but you get the idea.

And for fun I have included pictures for you to enjoy. Starting with my cute boys, followed by a couple of family pictures and then a few funny pictures from a new app I was playing around with called FaceGoo :)

Lounging in bed, it was super early in the  morning... too early. 

Judah asked to hold Asher. They love each other :)

This is his monster look, apparently he gets it from his dad. 

Doesn't he have the chubbiest, most kissable cheeks?!

The Gum Wall at Pike's Place Market in Seattle, yum!

The Crab Pot is a fun place to eat seafood, they dump a bucket full on your table and you put a bib on and get crackin'

Sorry this is sideways :(

Update...

I'll start first with how my day of no complaining went. It lasted only one day. I would go throughout the day trying to remember if I had actually complained or not. I don't think anyone really noticed a difference but I noticed that I tried to be more positive. I also realized that I didn't like how I was responding to Judah's behavior when I wanted him to do something. Lately I've been getting very frustrated with him when he doesn't do what I ask and I end up making him do it and then he throws a fit and then I tell him how upset he's making me (or at least his actions are making me upset). So after my day of no complaining I resolved to take a few extra minutes to calm down and talk with him rather then nag/yell and give him a choice. But more importantly I have tried to remind myself that he is two and two year olds have lots energy and have a hard time transitioning into new activities. I need to appreciate his sense of humor rather then get so annoyed because he's being so silly.

With that said, I've decided to put off potty training (again). It's not necessarily that's he's not ready but with the back and forth that we frequently do between parents' homes it just seems to be dragging on longer than I want. He does really well when he can run around half naked but if I try to put pants or underwear on him he doesn't seem to mind going in them, not to mention he can't really pull his pants down on his own yet anyway. So we'll try again later.

No Spend February has been really successful so far. We're half way through the month and we've gotten gas once and a couple of things from the grocery store. I did splurge on a bag garam masala for $2.99 from the international market because I needed it for a recipe I was making that night and that was the only size bag they had (and then I didn't have time to make that recipe anyway, doh!) I will still make it but I could have shopped around for a smaller quantity and cheaper price. I also had to buy diapers today... for Judah :(. It'll be fun at the end of the month to see on average how much money we saved.

Asher's personality is really starting to show. I love the way he looks at Judah and smiles and giggles at him. For a while there every night when we would walk up the stairs to go to bed I would be holding Asher and Judah would be climbing the stairs in front of us talking about something and Asher would just start giggling. Then we'd climb on the bed and if Judah even looked at Asher while he was talking Asher would bust up laughing. Now Judah tries to make him laugh and it almost always works, except for when instead it makes him cry. Also, sometimes when Asher is sad Judah will say "Asher, it's okay" in a sweet voice and then sing him the ABCs. It works, and melts my heart.

The boys are back to waking up in the 6 o'clock hour. For a couple of weeks or so they would sleep in til 8:30 or even 8:45 and it was AMAZING! But of course that was a fluke and not the norm, boo! I don't even know what the best bedtime for them is or should be anymore, I'm so confused. They've each been sick lately and for the last three days Judah has taken two naps in a day! Hopefully we'll get some kind of schedule back to normal again.

Jon has been very willing to give Asher a bottle in the middle of the night to give me a break and I let him once in a while but that guy requires more sleep than I do and still needs a nap when he gets home from work. He uses the excuse that he still has Lyme Disease, which he probably does and is the only reason why I don't resent him for needing so much sleep when I hardly get any! Since the disease never really goes away (although some doctors don't even believe it exists!) then I can't really give him too much grief. Plus if I asked him to do anything he would do it without hesitation (talk about whipped!) even if he were tired. I have him get up to put Asher's binky back in his mouth at night sometimes because I feel like that kid can smell milk and won't go back to sleep unless he's fed if I go in there. Pretty much I have an awesome husband, the best, even if he is so sleepy.

Anyway, I think that update was plenty long. Time for pictures...

No more complaining!

I have this really great idea (or really crazy depending on how you look at it). I want to give up complaining for an entire day! That may seem simple but I know me and I don't think it will be simple at all. I'll take it one day at a time and see how it goes with my extended goal being a week!

I've decided to do this for a couple of reasons, besides the fact that Jon just gave me a hard time for having a bad attitude last night. I was recently called as our ward's women's athletic director (AFTER volleyball season!) and as such I am responsible for getting together a basketball team. Several women signed up but only one or two showed up, forcing us to forfeit. I feel obligated to play since not many women show up and I was dubbed the coach by default (I don't even know how to play let alone coach it!). Last night I moaned and groaned about going and Jon called me out. I ended up going and I was the only one from my ward to show up! Since my team and another ward's team have both forfeit twice we are now suppose to combine and just have open gym. By the way, no one from the other team we were suppose to combine with showed up either. So I joined up with the only team that did show up and we split up the team. I actually (and surprisingly) didn't do that bad and I even kind of sort of had fun.

So, I know I complain too much and I know it's very annoying to Jon even though he never says anything (he's a saint), except for last night. Not so much because he couldn't take it anymore (well maybe) but I think more because as my other half he's suppose to help me be my best. So that's one big reason. Especially since Jon has to (gets to) be with me for eternity. Another reason is because of what my relief society president said in this month's newsletter:

"With the new year well under way, it is time to reflect on what is important and maybe some changes or goals that we can make for ourselves. The recent stake women's conference made me realize how special our sisterhood is and how we can make a difference in the lives of those we come in contact with. I appreciate all of you and the spirits that you have. I look forward to Sunday and the other meetings that we have together because of how good you make me feel. I know that the more we seek after good things in our lives, the more we will want more good things, the same goes for bad or evil things. We actually have the power to invite the spirit of our Heavenly Father into our lives by the choices that we make and the things that we surround ourselves with.
I challenge each of us to make one choice for good in our lives, whether it be reading the scriptures more, praying more intently, or just doing more acts of kindness for others. When we are inspired to do something we need to act on that inspiration because we never know the prayers that are being offered for the Lord for help."

I had already decided I wanted to do this challenge before reading her words but it just solidified my resolution to do so. Now I feel as if I were inspired to do it. I've always prayed that I would try to be a better person (especially a better wife) but that's always right before bed and then go figure life begins again the next day and I forget that I was gonna try harder. So I'm finally going to do something, take action, or in this case NOT complain.

Wish me luck, I'm going to start tomorrow! I will report on how I do...

Oh and in case you were wondering, I tried my first green smoothie this morning. I found a bunch of recipes on Pinterest and from friends/family and they were all way different so I thought I would just wing it. If I can remember correctly I put a little bit of spinach, kale and romaine lettuce. Some frozen peas, part of an apple, half of an orange, half of a small tomato, and some whole milk. The picture I took was before I tried it. I ended up having to strain it because it was so pulpy but afterwards it was actually quite tasty (or at least not gaggy). I could probably handle drinking a similar concoction each morning for the benefits.

I have so much to say!

First of all, it's been a really long time. I'm going to try this whole blogging thing again. Now that I have two little boys at home with me, why not? Both of them are sleeping, one of them right next to me. For some reason I decided to write up this post rather then taking a nap myself. You'd think I'd be all over a nap since a. they are both asleep at the same time, b. Asher still wakes up several times a night and c. I am currently trying to potty train Judah and he is full of attitude! which is exhausting. But here I sit (lay) typing up this long overdue blog post.

Now that Jon has finished grad school in D.C. we have moved back to Seattle. The idea was to move in with our parents until Jon was able to land a job with either a NGO or The State Department which I didn't think would take long since Jon is such a genius and highly desirable (at least in my opinion). Which is why we left most of our belongings back in Maryland. Nine months later and still no job and still living with our parents (we started with mine and have now moved over to his, for a little variety). He is working, just not the higher paying job that utilizes his education, skills and experience like we had anticipated. We're very grateful that he is able to work and that we have such amazingly supportive parents because now we have his student loans to pay off, this should be fun. Anyway, in an effort to save as much money as possible to pay off our debt as soon as possible we have decided to try different ways to cut back. Here is a list of things that we are going to try:

*February No Spend Month- not spending any money at all, except for necessary things such as food or if we happen to run out of diapers or gas. Jon is taking the family car, with the car seats, to work to save on gas which also keeps me at home so I can't spend any money even if I wanted to.

*My cell phone contract with Verizon will be up on Feb 10 so I am going to cancel and switch from my iPhone to a pay as you go phone.

*Cook from scratch as much as I can. And start drinking green smoothies.

*Use coupons. I have started getting familiar with the local grocery stores online coupon deals as well as their ads.

*Prioritizing wants vs. needs.

Obviously we are saving tons of money by living with our parents and driving an old car (in case you didn't know we got rid of my Elantra and car payment). But Jon also drives my grandpa's old jeep, that is a huge gas hog, to work. So for at least this month he is driving our car as much as I can stand to not have a car and we'll see how it goes after this month.

I'm checking out lots of books from the library and downloading as many free ones from amazon for my kindle app on how to save money, get out of debt, and live cheaply. The only debt we have is the student loan so it's not like we need to change a lot of our spending habits but I would like to learn more efficient ways to be frugal as well as knowledgeable on how to save for our future. I get excited when I think about paying off our debt and saving for our future as well as someday buying a house, we just need to put in the effort now so we can reap the benefits later.