Dear Friends and Family,
It's Tuesday. P starts school tomorrow. So, it's our last day of summer vacation before she starts first grade. We don't have anything specific planned, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the day.
And, tomorrow kicks off a new day. P will be back in school. Mr. mouse will be back at work. And, I will be wrapping my head around my new day. There's so much I put on hold over the summer I'm a little bit at a loss on where to begin. I should probably take the time to create a new Top 3.
There is one thing I am able to wrap my head around that I am super excited about. Mr. mouse switched jobs (same company, new department) and as a result got a pay increase. After being on a budget for a year, I felt like we had a good handle on things. In fact, outside of August (we had to replace our hot water heater) we had been consistently under spending our monthly budget. So, I decided to create a new line item in our budget - experience fund: doing something new or different or a fan favorite. In other words, the money can't be used to buy stuff. It's meant to do stuff, like go to see a play or try a new restaurant or travel or try something, but not to buy anything for us or the house or for other people. I think I'm fine using it to entertain because there is something new gained by spending time with friends. I'm super excited to see what we end up spending the money on. I think it'll be a great way to expand our horizons.
Oh, in case you're wondering, where did the last two weeks go? We went to Disney World and did the Magic Kingdom for two days. The original idea was to have P nap in the car, but that didn't work because frankly the car is just too far away to be a practical napping point. Instead, she spent a lot of time in her stroller and ate a lot of sugar and got to stay up until midnight each night. Then, we spent two low key days at Legoland Florida. We rode the rides, played with the legos, bought souvenirs, and watched the shows. It was a vacation my sister had been trying to plan for awhile so I'm glad we finally got to go. We all enjoyed it and P still talks about different things she noticed while on the rides or seeing the shows.
Then, we came home, unpacked, repacked, and headed out to Spain. Mr. mouse had a trip to Madrid and P and I decided to tag along since all we needed to pay for was our food and entertainment. We took P to see Guernica since she's a big Picasso fan. And, we played a little in the playground. But, the primary purpose of the trip was to buy P's clothes. We spent a lot of time shopping. P got her fall wardrobe and we didn't have to spend a small fortune. For example, at home, a pair of pants that fit her proportions costs $42. Yep, $42 for kid's pants. In Spain, we were able to buy pants for half that price. Dresses? half off. Sweaters? half off. Tops? half off. Shoes? no dice, more expensive and lower quality. So, we bought almost all of her fall and winter clothes while we were in Spain.
So, that's been our life the past two weeks. Time to get ready for the day.
Cheers!
mouse
It's Tuesday. P starts school tomorrow. So, it's our last day of summer vacation before she starts first grade. We don't have anything specific planned, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the day.
And, tomorrow kicks off a new day. P will be back in school. Mr. mouse will be back at work. And, I will be wrapping my head around my new day. There's so much I put on hold over the summer I'm a little bit at a loss on where to begin. I should probably take the time to create a new Top 3.
There is one thing I am able to wrap my head around that I am super excited about. Mr. mouse switched jobs (same company, new department) and as a result got a pay increase. After being on a budget for a year, I felt like we had a good handle on things. In fact, outside of August (we had to replace our hot water heater) we had been consistently under spending our monthly budget. So, I decided to create a new line item in our budget - experience fund: doing something new or different or a fan favorite. In other words, the money can't be used to buy stuff. It's meant to do stuff, like go to see a play or try a new restaurant or travel or try something, but not to buy anything for us or the house or for other people. I think I'm fine using it to entertain because there is something new gained by spending time with friends. I'm super excited to see what we end up spending the money on. I think it'll be a great way to expand our horizons.
Oh, in case you're wondering, where did the last two weeks go? We went to Disney World and did the Magic Kingdom for two days. The original idea was to have P nap in the car, but that didn't work because frankly the car is just too far away to be a practical napping point. Instead, she spent a lot of time in her stroller and ate a lot of sugar and got to stay up until midnight each night. Then, we spent two low key days at Legoland Florida. We rode the rides, played with the legos, bought souvenirs, and watched the shows. It was a vacation my sister had been trying to plan for awhile so I'm glad we finally got to go. We all enjoyed it and P still talks about different things she noticed while on the rides or seeing the shows.
Then, we came home, unpacked, repacked, and headed out to Spain. Mr. mouse had a trip to Madrid and P and I decided to tag along since all we needed to pay for was our food and entertainment. We took P to see Guernica since she's a big Picasso fan. And, we played a little in the playground. But, the primary purpose of the trip was to buy P's clothes. We spent a lot of time shopping. P got her fall wardrobe and we didn't have to spend a small fortune. For example, at home, a pair of pants that fit her proportions costs $42. Yep, $42 for kid's pants. In Spain, we were able to buy pants for half that price. Dresses? half off. Sweaters? half off. Tops? half off. Shoes? no dice, more expensive and lower quality. So, we bought almost all of her fall and winter clothes while we were in Spain.
So, that's been our life the past two weeks. Time to get ready for the day.
Cheers!
mouse
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