Feeling Good and Saving Money

I am now eight weeks pregnant and the "beginning bloat" seems to be leaving. If you've had children before you know what I'm talking about. It's similar to menstrual bloating, but about 100, thousand, million times worse...okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it's worse. It's especially worse when you've got the morning sickness crap to go along with it. (Note to self: STOP saying "crap." Anna says it when she's upset..."Oh, Crap!")

There is a lot going on in the baby making department. This week, we're growing hands and feet...so fingers and toes. How exciting is that? Just based on where I am in the pregnancy, I can guess about what's happening to the baby. Also at eight weeks, I am 20% done with this pregnancy. I like that figure better than saying I'm eight weeks or 2 months pregnant. 20% done. Yeah!!

A note to people who might be wondering about the IUPUI thing...I found out Saturday that I was accepted. We're just waiting to hear about how my credits transferred and what all I need to do to finish my degree. So, that's exciting!

We're also looking to shave off some of our expenses so that we can pay off and pay down some of our expenses. We're doing small things that will add up in the long run. One thing that we started doing this weekend, and I don't know why we weren't doing it already, was giving up wipes at home. My mother didn't use wipes for the kids in our house and it really hadn't occurred to me how much we were using and how expensive they are. I figured out that we were using about a box (8 count refill box) or more of wipes per month...which works out to about 150 dollars a year.

It may not seem like a lot, but it adds up in the end and its a lot of extra waste. I mean...how often do I just grab a handful of wipes to clean up a mess, wipe a nose or to clean off a sneaker. Honestly...these are all things that I could be doing with reusable cloths. Which is what we're switching to. I was able to buy 24 soft-ish washcloths for 5 dollars. This may just be in the experiment stage for now, but I think this is something that we could switch to. Anyway, it's a first step.

There are other things that are on the horizon for us...changes that we'll be making to make certain that we're living more frugally...not just to save ourselves money, but ultimately as an example to our children and to enable us to be more giving to others.

Any ideas that you have to pass on to cut expenses or things that have helped you to be live frugally with what God has blessed you with would be great to learn. :)