A new do

Today I got my hair cut at the trendy Studio Nine. Cheryl did my hair and did a fantastic job.

I was featured last month on Hair Thursday. I couldn't decide which hair cut to get so I got something a little short, but not as short as the one featured.

Here are the before and after shots.

Gnashing

I am a BIG Dave Ramsey fan. I have been trying to follow his plan for nearly a year. We are on baby step 2 and eager to move on. For those of you that do not know what the baby steps are, here is a quick run down. (I highly recommend that you read his book, The Total Money Makeover).

Step 1: Baby Emergency Fund of 1k
Step 2: Pay off all debts
Step 3: Big Emergency Fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses
Step 4: Invest 10 to 15% of household income into retirement funds
Step 5: College funds for children
Step 6: Pay off house
Step 7: Invest, build wealth and give (He is big on giving money)

We are to the point with our debts that all we have left are Eduardo's student loans. We are happy about this, but it seems that it will take forever to pay them off. So with that we are considering doing something big.

First, we knew when we purchased our house that it would eventually get to the point that we would out grow it and we would have to move on. We have two bedrooms and Livy's room is too small to put another bed or crib for baby #2. So we would have to move.

We are planning on trying for baby #2 some time next year. We are debating whether to sell now or wait until next year. When we sell, we have enough equity in our house that we could put down a large down payment on another house, pay off Eduardo's student loans, put 6 months of expenses in the bank and have enough to fix up the new house. Plus, and this is a HUGE plus, there is a strong possibility that I would no longer have to work. I want more then anything to quit my daycare (Oh! The stories I could tell you!) and be a stay at home mom. We would then be working on baby step 6! (We have skipped a head a little and opened a College Savings account for Livy).

It all sounds great, right? We sell the house, be more financially secure and I get to finally stay home with Livy. I don't want to move. I am comfy here. It is extremely hard for me to make friends. I have lived in this house for 3 1/2 years and I just now feel like I have friends. Plus both Eduardo and I enjoy our callings at church, I am DUP Captain next year, and I live 2 blocks from my mom. I love that! The move would mean a 40 minute drive to visit my mom. Yuck! What to do, what to do!

Eduardo talked with his supervisor earlier this week to see if they could transfer him to another office. (Where we are considering moving to). This was going to be one of the determining factors whether or not to consider this. They told him that they would work with him. He really has found a great company to work for.

If we moved, it wouldn't be until this summer. We still have to sell our house and the market is slow.

Being Crafty

For Livy's birthday, she received these adorable homemade bobby pins. Aren't they cute?!
So today, I have been making some of my own.

Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone had a special Easter. Here are a few ways that we celebrated....

Every year, on the Saturday before Easter, my mom holds an Easter party for all of the Granddaughters. (She has no grandsons.) This year, they made Easter bonnets. Livy's had crape paper straps to tie it on, but she ripped them off quicker then what we could take a picture.
Afterwards we took the children on an Easter Egg hunt. It used to be the kind where the plastic, candy filled eggs were hidden in various places. A few years ago to shake things up the egg hunt became more of a treasure hunt. This years "baskets" were the cute denim bags.
Livy in her Easter dress with basket.

Tried to do a mini egg hunt outside, but Livy was totally not interested.

A fantastic Easter dinner. We had a delicious ham, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, steamed fresh green beans, hot rolls and a homemade sparkling cider. Thanks to Ginger for the recipe. (Next time I will use Ginger Ale instead of Sprite). To make, take the frozen concentrate apple juice; we used Apple Cherry. Instead of mixing with water, mix with Sprite or Ginger Ale.

For dessert, Angel Lush with Pineapple! It was delicious! Find the recipe here.

Photo Shoot

Livy's birthday is on Friday and I will be submitting her photo to be aired on the morning news that day. Which picture do you like best?

Party Time!

Yesterday we celebrated Olivia's first birthday (which isn't offially until this Friday the 14th) with our family.

We had a pinata, made sock puppets and had delicious birthday cake. Here are a few photos showing how much fun we had!

Would you like some cheese to go with the Whine?

Livy has been beyond cranky and whiny this entire week. I have been trying to figure out what is wrong and nothing seems to work. My first thought was that perhaps she is not feeling well. She has been fighting one cold after another since we came back from Mexico. We have been home for over a month. I gave her some infant pain reliever in hopes that it would help, but it was no good.

I also thought that maybe she was tiring herself out. She is walking (more like running) and getting into everything. Most days, nap time does not come quick enough!

My final thought yesterday was that she had entered into a new stage and this is what I have to deal with. Let me say that this thought killed me. Livy has always been such a content baby. Even when she was a newborn she hardly cried. She had a way of communicating with me to let me know what she needed without all of the drama. I couldn't imagine loosing my baby to the nightmare that I have been experiencing this week.

Today has been a different story. Livy has been happy and content. I couldn't figure out why the sudden change. Did she figure that I wasn't going to give into the constant whining? Or was there a different problem that I overlooked?

Livy loves to hang upside down and as we were playing I got a good look in her mouth. And it looks like I overlooked the fact that she could be teething. She has cut a molar with another one to cut very soon. This is tooth number 9! Will she ever slow down?

The Migration

Since Olivia started to walk, things are being moved all over the house. Today it was the collapsible laundry basket from my bedroom.