It's 6:30 a.m. I Have a Cup of Coffee, My Computer

and a house full of sleeping babies and husband. It's so quiet. I can hear the birds chirping outside and the hum of my appliances while I sip my coffee in my, for once, peaceful home. I'm waiting on the delievery of my Saturday paper. Apparently I am up before even the newspaper guy! So, I thought I'd pop onto my blog and reflect a little.

It's so nice to have a quiet house every so often. My children are such little motors when they're up that they barely stop to eat. Forget about some quiet when they're awake. It's constant chatter, laughing, crying, screaming, giggles, and pretend. It's nice to have a few solitary conscious moments before they get up again and the giggles and chatter begin again.

Robin's snoring in our bed. That's what woke me. On a Saturday. ~sigh~ I wouldn't have minded another hour of sleep, but I can't sleep when he snores. So. Rather than fight with him about his snoring, I got up and made a pot of coffee, threw some laundry in the dryer and am just relaxing. The day is bound to get more and more crazy-busy as it goes along. I'm enjoying the solitude, the quiet and the chirping birds while I sip my coffee.

Today I'm happy in a peaceful way. After many months of struggling with our budget, Robin and I have finally come to a point where our Friday/Saturday morning budget sessions aren't scarey. The first few months of it, it seemed like no matter what we did, we had more week left at the end of the money. Now, through really hard work and persistance, we have more money left at the end of the week. That makes me really happy.

We've managed to put aside all the tuition payment for July, which is a HUGE chunk 'o change. We've started saving for August. I'd like to get the September and October payments put aside as well because of my regular pay seems to take a good full month before it comes in. I have no idea why it takes this long every fall when I go back to work, but it does and it sucks big time. Besides Christmas time, it is for us, the most stressful time financially.

We have also been moving along with our payments on our one credit card. It's the one we got when we financed the hardwood floors. I won't even start about how much I hate credit card companies right now because they are the devil, pure and simple. I can't wait to never, ever get another bill from them! December can't come too soon for that!

I'm also very proud of the fact that we've been putting money aside for our mortgage payments every week. That way, when the first of the month hits and our payment is due, we're not freaking out. The money is already there. Such a nice feeling.

Today, Robin and I will be talking about our budget planning to Nicole and Sam. I know that they've been struggling financially for a while. Part of it is their fault and part of it is because of Nicole's mom. She's an almost 40 year old woman who can not seem to do anything but mooch off those who care about her; whether that be her ex (Robin), her children or her friends and family. This woman is a piraiah (I have no idea if I spelled that correctly! Ack!).

Anyway, we're going to sit down with them today and discuss Dave Ramsey's plan with them and give them an outline of what they can do. I feel so blessed that I found this plan and actually have been working with it for a few months now. It's been hard work and I'm sure it will be hard work for Nicole and Sam, but it's so, so worth it.