Thursday Thoughts!

Today I am linking up with the awesome Jennifer at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom!

So what are my thoughts this Thursday?! Well for starters......
 

- So I was completely set with my decision to refi the Jeep and take out a personal loan to consolidate credit UNTIL the girl called to talk numbers with me. She wanted to know if instead of taking out a personal loan, I could add to my current car loan at 2.54% for 5 years. The personal loan will be fixed payments at a 8.25% and will be for four years. At first I was against it because I was planning on getting the 1.54% for 36 months so I basically shot down her idea. But now that I am off the phone with her I am wondering if I made the wrong decision. Maybe I should have borrowed against the Jeep? But then I keep telling myself I did the right thing because I really want to have the Jeep paid off here sooner then later? And what if we need to get rid of it for some reason, wouldn't it be better if I owed $12,500 then $19,000? Ugh! Did I make the right decision? Ahhhhhh! I am just not sure!

 

- I need to write my Thank Yous out for the baby showers! I have one written out of 36 so far! I am not doing very good at it!

 

- My heart hurts today. Not sure why, but I just feel sad. Poo!

 

- There was a small earthquake in Richmond last night. I surely did not feel it, and it seems split in the people who did and did not feel it in my area. I am pretty sure I would have noticed it or like the dog or cat or Hailey would have reacted? So now I am curious if these people really did feel it in my county or are the just thinking they did!

 

- I need to run over to CVS and get my medicines since I am out. They should be ready, but I just don't have the energy to go across the road and grab them. I was 25mg short of one of them last night, and now that I think of it, it could be why I feel sad today!

 

- I had to call out yesterday because my stomach was sick. It also worked out that Hailey was also feeling under the weather. Both of us are feeling much better today so we were back to the grind!

 

- I must work on Emily's room this week and weekend! MUST! Girlfriend will be here in less then 3 weeks! Ekkkk!

 

- I have spent a lot of time lately pairing up my coupons and figuring how they stack to get the best deal. I have been following this website that helps me. The only thing is how are they getting 3 or 4 of the same coupons that came out of the newspapers on certain dates. It says when and where they are from, so does that mean they are buying multiple copies? I thought about making copies of them on the printer, but they say it can not be reproduced. So where do all these coupons come from? I am going to target tomorrow so hopefully I can make some of these deals work out!

 

So those are my many thoughts for today! What are your Thursday Thoughts?

Ten Things on Tuesday!

1. I can't wait for it to be a long weekend this weekend! Woot woot! It's been a long time since I have had a "holiday" off from work!

2. I am excited for our day trip on Saturday to Massahnutten. It's some timeshare sales pitch we have to listen to, but I am exited to just go and get away even if it's just for the afternoon.

3. Kenny laid a bomb on me last night and completely blew to pieces all our plans that had come together about childcare and the baby. Now I have no clue what we will do, but of course all the details are up in the air still. I ugly cried myself to sleep about it last night. Ugh! And not to mention the arguing over the whole matter didn't help. He had the nerve to say "well you should have had this all planned out before you decided on a baby". Ummmm it wasn't until March that we learned of all the possible changes in his job....... Men are dumb and tend to make invalid points during arguments.

4. Nesting has hit me hard! I have been cleaning and scrubbing everything! Last night after three loads of laundry were all washed, folded, and put away, I decided it would be good to go through Hailey's tee shirts and jeans so we can weed out the ones that don't fit anymore.

5. I wish I could take my nesting into Emily's room since currently it looks like a bomb went off in there. Pretty much I have just gone through the baby shower stuff and they are in piles on the floor. I really need to hit her closet so I can go through the boxes of stuff! She will be here sooner then later and I NEED to get my butt in gear!

6. There is so drama going on at work. It doesn't involve me directly, but I am interested in how this is all playing out. Today they met to decide who will take over my work during my leave. Also we have our performance appraisals dangling over our heads by one of the tougher higher ups so I am curious what my rating will be for the year. I won't get mine until August or September which sucks since it was supposed to be done in May, but because we had no supervisor, now we had to wait for  90 days in order to be rated and mine will have to wait extra long until I come back from leave. Apparently it then screws up our next rating period. It is what it is, I can't keep worrying about it though.

7. I had a long argument over text about why I do not want my Mom to buy Hailey an Alex and Ani bracelet. Number one, a 6 year old doesn't need an expensive little bracelet. She can barely keep track of the rubber ones I buy her. And secondly they are cool little bracelets with meanings behind them, something at this age Hailey wouldn't understand. And lastly my Mom shouldn't be spending her money on things like that. She had the nerve to say "I will buy her whatever I feel she needs". What a slap in the face! It's a nice gesture to Hailey, but she should respect me as a parent and what I say for my children.

8. I got a message from UMUC today saying that my account was cleared and I should have no further problems. I wrote right back and said "is my account cleared with the State of Maryland Central Collections also?" And of course I have seen no response back. So I am guessing that was a big fat no!

9. I submitted paperwork to refinance my Jeep again and to take out a fixed personal loan to pay off all my credit cards. I am waiting to hear what the numbers and payments will be, but I am hoping that it will help me in my current situation. I know the savings in interest will help ALOT if you look at the big picture.

10. I can't wait for this work week to be over. I desperately need to rest and relax a bit. This past weekend was non stop. Friday there was a birthday party, Sunday was the school trip, and Saturday I spent all morning scrubbing the house for a bonfire with Kenny's friends. Even though it turned out great, it still was a chaotic mess with people who don't watch their children. I freaked out twice about it! They were literally destroying my house, all my hard work, and Hailey's stuff, and the worse thing was that my kid wasn't even in there, she was outside playing where everyone else was at. Also they were mostly older kids like 10 years old and older! At one point I told them they had to come outside since that was where everyone else was! Ughhhhhh! Someone even took Hailey's nice remote controlled Barbie's Corvette and ran it all through the mud outside! I need a weekend to recover from just that event!

Hope you are having a good Tuesday! What 10 things do you want to share today?

Weekend Recap: Sunday Funday with Hailey's First Grade Class!

For the past three weeks I have been getting "save the date" notices from school about a Sunday class picnic and history tour at Chatham Manor. Number one, I thought it was odd they were doing something on a Sunday at 11:30 am. Number two, I had no clue what a Chatham Manor was. And lastly, when were we going to receive anything more then a save the date notice. Well finally a letter came home this past Thursday giving some small information. Meet at 11:30 at Chatham Manor and bring your family and a picnic lunch. It should last until 2pm and then we are invited to join her for ice cream at this place called Carl's.

To be honest I had no clue what to expect. And since I had nothing for a picnic at the house, I ended up packing some drinks and stopping at WaWa on the way there. The place was amazing! It was absolutely beautiful. We went to a shady spot with benches and ate our lunches and then we began the tour around this huge house. Where we live is heavy in history of the Civil war so this is a house where a lot happened. Now I don't remember all of the information, but it was pretty amazing. We went around the house then got to go inside and tour the little museum part of it. The kids have been learning about this house and a Mr. Lacey who used to own it so they were all amazed. After we finished that we all loaded up in our cars and headed to the "Sunken Road" trail where there were all sorts of battles and then hiked up the hill to the huge Union cemetery. We looked around a little bit and was amazed at the amount of people who had no headstones but just a number marker. These are people who they couldn't account for, This cemetery was HUGE and the dates were all in the 1800's. Afterwards we went to Carl's Ice Cream which I have heard so much about. It's a little outdoor shop that's also a piece of history. It was pretty good! I def would return there! We also showed that we were not from this county by saying we had never been there. Apparently it's a huge deal in these parts!

So the trip was pretty amazing! The more I thought about it, I thought it was pretty cool that Hailey had a teacher who actually loves teaching enough to show them firsthand what they had been learning about in school! Our school budgets have been severely cut so this was a way she could still provide her students a chance to see and learn without bringing in the school and money. She used her own time to make sure they understood what they were learning. I think that's pretty amazing of her. It was a great time and the weather was beautiful. It was a pretty awesome family Sunday!

Part of the Chatham Manor

Shhhh! You don't see Kenny because he may have called out of work so he could join us!

 

This is a crazy tree! It's one of the originals and it has to be supported by these beams to keep it standing!

The supports!

This is what they made their bridges out of so they could cross the water. They were like little pontoon boats

This is the Rappahannock River and across is old town Fredericksburg.

Class picture!

Another one! These are the only kids who came out of 23 total.

These were the gardens at Chatham Manor! They were beautiful!

This was off the Sunken Road trail. Mrs. Scheff is telling the kids about the house that used to be there and that the women who stayed there used to provide water to the soldiers during the war.

This was an original house from the war. There are bullet holes all inside it!

Apparently there are a lot of historical pictures looking up this hill at the house and there are soldiers that have been bandaged up from being wounded hanging out  on that big porch.

This is one tiny view of the cemetery.

 

After we finished with our class activities, I decided it would be an awesome time to go pick some strawberries. Usually we go at the end of the season so this is still pretty early since the berries were pushed back from the harsh weather we had. This is the same place we went last year and I made sure to grab our bucket before leaving the house. We all agreed that we will have to go back in a couple weeks because the berries just weren't ready. They were all very small and it was had to find ones that hadn't rotted from the crazy rains for last week. None of the ones we were able to find were more then one bite and they weren't that sweet either. So I def think a redo is in order in a few weeks! Despite the berries, we did have a pretty fun time!

 

 

 

This place makes fresh honey so this was a bee display that they had that you could look at! Pretty neat!

What I am Loving Wednesday!

So I thought since it was Wednesday I could celebrate all the things I have been loving this week/ past couple weeks!


1. I am loving that my Mother's day was spent with Hailey! She started off the morning by giving me a card and presents that she picked out with Kenny the other day! She also made me a coupon book at school and a book of why she loves me! We then had a girls day all afternoon! We finished the evening by planting the last of my flowers that were wilting and begging me to plant them!

 

My Mother's Day gifts! A rug for in front of the kitchen sink and a K Cup Drawer!

 

Movies with Hailey to see Bears!

 

 

Hailey's first Pedicure!

 

 

Matching toes that Hailey picked for us!

 

 

2. I am loving special moments shared with best friends!

 

 

 

Michele's wedding!

 

 

 

Benefit event and being there to support the bestie's family!

 

 

 

My baby shower!

 

Flowers from Meagan's visit while I was in the hospital!

 

 

3. I am loving this man. We still argue and fight, but these last few weeks he has been nothing short of amazing to me! Between putting up with my hysterical crying, to doing an amazing job around the house including painting rooms and redoing the deck, to working with my friends on my shower and surprise birthday plans! He even has been going to my appointments with me even though I know he hates sitting there the whole time!

 

I'm learning to deal with his over usage of his phone. He's become a girl the past few months!

My wedding date!

 

4. I am loving big girl beds and the start of the baby room!

 

 

 

*More to come once both rooms are finished!*

 

 

5. I am loving special Birthday surprises!

 

 

My gifts from Kenny and Hailey! (flowers, couch cover and fitbit)

 

 

Surprise visit from my #BFFLs!

 

 

 

From Kaley! (jewelry holder!)

 

 

From Michele and Heather (cute coffee cup and tickets to the benefit!)

Surprise present from my Mom! (3 Alex and Ani bracelets all with meanings behind them!)

 

Plus all the cards, messages, and texts I received on my birthday!

 

 

So this is what I am loving this Wednesday! How about you?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



10 Things on Tuesday!

 

 

1. It's Tuesday and I really wish it was at least Wednesday already! I am just so tired and it's getting harder and harder for me to wake up, roll (usually two attempts) out of bed and get going. This baby is draining me of the little bit of energy I had!!!!

 

2. I spent my lunch break looking at college saving plans/ grow up plans / investment plans for the girls. I am not going to push or force them to pursue college, but definitely support them in any choice they make. If they choose college then I want some money to be there, but if not then I still want them to be able to get that money and use towards something else like a down payment on a house or car. I get confused reading through all the different options, requirements, and fees. I printed out a couple different things and requested information in the mail.........then I remembered that I barely have enough money to pay bills each week and this is before a baby who will require diapers and formula comes along. So I guess that will be a no go for now! At least I can tell them I looked into it when they were little!

 

3. Kenny told me a little girl came up to him the other day while he was picking Hailey up from aftercare and asked how old I was and said that Hailey had told them it was my birthday and I turned 27. Kenny said that was how old I was and the little girl responded with "wow". I just laughed and wondered what the "wow" was for. Yesterday I went to pick Hailey up and the same little girl came up to me and said "Mrs. Gass, Hailey told us all that you just turned 27". And I said "yup, I turned 27 last week." and again she responded with "wow" and so I asked "is that old?" and she responded with "no it's young, my Mom's birthday was last Friday and she turned 47 and she said Hailey must have said the wrong number when she told us how old you were". Ha! Young mommy for the win!

 

4. I got my free Starbucks drink for my birthday today. I figured I couldn't go wrong with a Venti Mocha Frappachino. Wrong! It tasted like shit! Free is suppose to taste amazing! What happen?!?

 

5. I got $150 for my birthday and may have spent all but like $13 of it so far! Ebates got me with their special 15% cashback offer on Sephora. This is an unheard of deal! So I bought a good amount of things from there that I have been eyeing forever (like the Origin's charcoal mask and Origin's citrus energizing facial moisturizer!). Urban Decay conned me into making a purchase off their site because I got a free eyeliner of my choice as my birthday gift! That's a $20 savings and their 24/7 eyeliner is my favorite! I have never actually had a full sized one either. I have always had travel sized ones that I use down until they are about an inch big and can not be sharpened anymore. And finally Victoria Secret had a special deal on shipping so I got some new underwear shipped to me for free! I have been in desperate need of new panties and so this was my perfect chance! On the good news is I will be getting back $12.75 from my ebates purchases and $1.28 on my cashback Visa! Woot!

 

6. I did get a $50 Amazon giftcard that I am saving! Not sure exactly what I am going to want with that yet! Hmmmm decisions decisions, but since this is my last bit of money I think I am going to sit on it for right now!

 

7. My birthday was so/so. I worked the entire day, but the night was nice with Kenny and Hailey. I was pretty bummed that I had worked and it just didn't feel like my Birthday. We did go out to dinner and Kenny did take Hailey shopping so that was nice! Hailey was kind of in a grumpy mood though and snapped at me several times. I came home to a bill the insurance didn't pay on and a collections notice for something else so that was a bummer. So my birthday kind of stunk overall. BUT that changed on Friday when I was surprised with a snapchat of three of my best friends outside my house! They drove all the way over to see me and celebrate with me! I had no clue! The husbands (minus one) and kids were with them, they came with pizza, balloons, gifts and cake! It was a huge surprise and I cried when I saw the picture of them outside of my house! It really meant a lot to me that they organized this and did it! It was a very nice surprise and def helped make my 27th Birthday pretty awesome!

 

8. I swear every time I open the mail I have some crazy bill or a collections notice for something the insurance hasn't paid. I wish they would figure out how to bill around here and stop billing our local BlueCross BlueShield and use the one I actually have! I can't help it that we work in DC and have CareFirst instead of Anthem! I also don't understand why I give them my insurance cards to make copies of?! I mean come on! I am sick and tired of making phone calls to the insurance company and then to these doctors! Ugh! Every week I make at least 4 calls to somewhere to get things straightened! It really irks me!

 

9. I mentioned back in November and then again in April about University of Maryland messing up my account and sending me to collections for money that was paid to them! Well my collections account is still open, I am still in the offset program for $835.00, and I am still dealing with that. I sent an email today to any department that I could think of saying that it had to be corrected ASAP because I will be seeking legal help to clear my name. It was a long nasty email, but I am sorry this is effecting my credit and my background checks for federal jobs! This is ridiculous and I am tired of playing games. It should have never happened and then should have been resolved in November when all the documentation had been provided. It should have never gotten to this point that I was sent to state collections and it should have been resolved back in April when I was told it would be taken care of! I did get a phone call within an hour and they are currently "working on it" and will keep me posted. About damn time!

 

Ps: I don't have money for said "legal help", but they don't need to know that! ;-)

 

10. Emily was such a lazy butt this past Friday at the doctors. First off she is so far down there they couldn't even see her face while doing the sonogram but they could check all her organs and everything they needed to. Secondly she had one hand on her face and the other was straight back and she was holding onto her foot. Crazy girl! And lastly she failed her NST because the whole purpose is to watch how her heart rate reacts to her movements, but girlfriend didn't want to move for the entire 30 minutes we were hooked up. They used a buzzer twice on her which made her jump, but she fell right back to sleep. They said that they would let this fail slide this one time and next time to eat beforehand, bring a snack, and hope it wakes her up because if not we will spend the day in the hospital being monitored. Believe me I do not want to deal with anymore doctors or bills! So that better not be the case!!!!!