Stay At Home Moms don't do anything?!?!?!?

Okay, folks, you know me. I think having a stay at home parent is important for children. I don't look down on parents who don't get to stay at home, but for those of us who do, we know it's an important job, and oh, did I mention, HARD WORK!

This post comes because I was reading another mom's blog today (who also stays at home), and she said her husband thought Stay at Home Moms don't do much! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am pretty sure we do it all! We don't get days off. We are responsible for appointments, chores, errands, bill paying, house cleaning, sicknessses, laundry, and the list never ends. If I am thinking correctly, that means we do a WHOLE lot. Not to mention, your child or children get to grow up with a parent with them not with a daycare provider who probably doesn't give two, well, I can't think of a nice word to put here, :) about your child. The daycare is just a way for them to make money.

This is obviously not all daycare providers since once my children are in school, I plan to teach, but I have worked in daycare and preschool, and while I really care about children and made them a priority, I have worked with plenty of people who just needed a job. This is sad, yes, but it's a reality, and because of that, staying at home is vital for me especially while my children are very young and fragile.

So, for those of you who stay at home, thumbs up to you. I know sometimes I have felt like I missed my calling when having a bad day. I think: "I really should've finished college before having a baby." "Maybe I would be better off working," etc. etc. Sometimes I feel like I have failed myself and my peers. For those of you who don't know, I graduated number 4 in my class of 200+, and I was a super scholar, ACT scholar, the president of many organizations, etc. I get comments all the time like, "I never would've guessed you'd be married and with child." Most people would take offense because the "right" thing to do is have an education and career before having children in the eyes of many. But in the end, this is my calling, and everything will all work out. School will be finished (Because that is super important to me, and I want my children to be able to do the same), and life will happen. For right now, being at home, taking care of the house and Emma IS my calling. I want to have more children, and they will be my calling when they come along too! Children are such blessings, and I wouldn't trade one second for being at home with my baby. Here is one of my favorite quotes:

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” 
- C. Everett Koop

And here is my calling :)

The Cash Only, Envelope Budget!

Okay folks, it's definitely supposed to be cloth diaper Tuesday, but I decided I like randomness better, so I want to talk about MONEY and FINANCES! Yahoo. Everyone loves money, right?

Since moving on base, I've been lucky enough to meet some awesome people that I would've never met had we continued to live off base! Just last week, I was able to meet a sweet sweet mom to an 18 month old that live just a few houses down! I won't mention her name because I am just weird about mentioning other people when I don't have their permission. Okay, back to the story: In the short time since I met her, I have learned so much! She was talking of a cash only budget, and I just had to know more! Her and her husband attended the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at their church last year, and she was gracious enough to share her knowledge and materials so that I didn't have to pay for the class!

If you know nothing about Dave Ramsey, GO NOW and research his baby steps and all of his financial advice! I am no expert, so I am not going to sit here and give you financial advice, but I will explain to you how the cash only approach with envelope system works! There is a little book, part of Dave Ramsey's materials that you can order on his website or on amazon.com. Here it is:

This is the inside! It has a place for your checkbook on the left, a notepad and pen in the center, and the right side has the envelopes, a coin pouch, and a place for your debit card, ID, etc.

Here are the envelopes!

Okay, I am definitely no expert on this, but I will tell you what I do know. Basically, you come up with categories of items that are purchased each month, most importantly, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Some of my categories include food, clothing, house misc., car repairs, blow money, etc. You can create as many as you need and use a separate envelope for each category. Sit down, figure out your necessary expenses, and dedicate a set amount of cash for each category. Once you run out of cash, that's it. No more blow money or whatever the category may be.

I am super excited about this because once I actually sat down and figured out the amount of money that we bring in vs. our bills, we had a lot of money left over that was just being blown on random, pointless things. Now that every dime is spent before it even reaches us, it's nice the money has a purpose, and now I am paying twice what I actually have to pay a month on our car to pay it off in about a 1/3 of the time as we have it finance for! YAHOOOOOOOOOO! All of that, and I'm still able to put a good chunk into savings each month!

Just a couple things I read in Dave Ramsey's book that really stood out to me:

"If you will live like no one else, one day you will be able LIVE like no one else!"

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children." Proverbs 13:22

Ohhhhh, and if you read his book and listen to his advice, you'll never take out a loan again! :)