Jailbird...

No, she didn't get arrested. She had us worried for a few days (and sleepless nights) at home and finally when Monday rolled around we decided to head to the MD. Her pediatrician (4 days prior) had diagnosed her with asthma/reactive airway disease and she'd been on steroids (oral and inhaled) all weekend. Nothing seemed to be working and she constantly sounded like a 95 year old frail woman with pneumonia. Not good. Anyway, long story short, she was breathing with great difficulty and a nebulizer treatment did nothing for her in the office so off to the hospital we went. Thank God for family, Kedzie had a grand ol' time with his cousins while Sam, Elsie and I hung out in the hospital. Scary, institutionalized bed and all.

She's doing fine. We really only stayed about 6 hours and they let us out. They monitored her O2 saturation and she maintained well. Her respiratory rate decreased and she calmed down a bit once she took a nap in the Beco. (She was having none of that bed). 

So, a bit scary but made us all thankful that she doesn't have cystic fibrosis or any number of chronic diseases that went through our heads. As Kedzie said to his auntie when we heard we were all coming home to have dinner with everyone, "Elsie happy now?" Elsie is happy now.

n.

The Basement Wins.

So, small hiccup. About two weeks ago, Sam and I both noticed a small wet spot on the carpet that's in the spare bedroom in the basement. I chalked it up to the dog peeing there (I'm not sure why now that I look back on it...he does NOT just pee willy-nilly in the house). Sam, luckily, didn't easily let it go. Come to find out we had a leaky pipe that needed to be repaired immediately. The water had been leaking for a few weeks, it had soaked the floor and seeped under the carpet in the bedroom next door to the utility closet. Long story short, we got it fixed, pulled up the carpet and got everything nice and dry. We totally thought we'd lucked out. Not that big of a problem and we thought we'd salvaged the carpet. We'd just need to clean it and we'd be in business for a renter.

Then, Murphy, (as Dave says) knocked on our door. A few nights ago, Sam poked his head down the steps because he thought he heard something. Yeah, he did hear something. A burst pipe with water shooting EVERYWHERE. A couple inches of water coated our basement floor, many of our packing boxes with many of our belongings, and the carpet is dead. I'm not really into mold so the carpet, along with a few of the walls/drywall has to go.

It's fixed. Everything's OK. It really only cost a few hundred dollars (so far) but mostly, the basement is going to take a bit more work than planned. I'm OK with it. The basement, in its current state, is one of THE ugliest places I've ever been in. It needs some love. I'm learning to be as frugal as possible thanks to these sites. Check them out. Sweet inspiration.
Young House Love
Bower Power
Barefoot in the Kitchen
Ana White
And thanks to Sarah: Man vs. Debt
Happy perusing. Try to not be inspired.

That's where we're at. There will be before and after pictures.
n.

Life...

We've been diligently working towards our goal this last payperiod. I've been working a lot more so our life has been much less like I'm a stay-at-home mama and more like a full-time working mama. This seems to have taken a toll on more than just the expected. Mostly, though, it's difficult to come home, make dinner, pack lunches, clean up dishes, put babies to bed and have any time for each other. And do it all again the next day.

I can hear you..."wah, wah, wah." I know. Our life is blessed and I am thankful for this moment of sleeping babies, a husband (who played house husband all weekend) who is currently tending to our household needs by folding laundry, and a nice chunk of change to show for all this hard work.

 Kedzie 8 months

Elsa 7 months

So, this totally goes against Dave Ramsey philosophy, but I think we're gonna hold onto the money until:

1. we figure out what we're going to do to the basement in order to get it in rentable shape. We don't think this will take very much. Replace the windows, clean the carpet, new shower curtain and LOTS of organization. We're hoping to not have to throw too much cash into it but if we can get it fixed up and rentable by August we will be quite pleased with ourselves.

2. We're totally going to save enough to pay off my graduate student loans, which is a whopping $24,000. I know, ridiculous. That loan is currently our highest monthly payment of around $240. Basically, when we get that baby paid off we'll have $240 extra dollars per month. Awesome. That's what Dave calls a Debt Snowball. 

I'm not sure it's possible, but I'd love to be able to pay that baby off by my birthday. I'm not sure there could be a better present. Goal is set, it's out there in cyberspace. October 12th, here we come!

n.

We've probably earned that

It's a surprise to none of you, I'm sure, that we are at this point - this do-over, start-again, once-more point. We are dramatic people, people of passion, we know that and acknowledge that, and dramatic people tend to act in fits and starts. We deserve your skeptical glances, we've earned your doubtful sighs.

But, people of passion, once steered and provided the tools for the task, are also capable of crazy, passion-driven things. This year behind us has served as both rudder and depot. We find ourselves another year into our lives but still unable to live the lives we want, the lives we are called into, because of the choices we've made to jump into our holes of debt. We also, however, have a system in place that, with the addition of more than a little determination, perhaps even a lot of passion, equips us to plunge headlong into the task. We've mastered the art of cash-living in a plastic world. We've tweaked and tuned our spreadsheets and charts. Now, it's just a matter of choosing and changing; saying yes to living with less. When all is said and done - and it will be said and done because it must be said and done, we have too much living to live to let it be otherwise - our hope is to lift our heads from our work and realize that we are free, not only free of this load but really, wholly free. I don't think anyone can earn that; that is grace.

So, I come to you again, dear friends, to seek your support, your solidarity. Sigh all you'd like in the privacy of your homes, glance skeptically, just do it behind our backs. I'm not asking for financial contributions or standing dinner invitations, I'm asking for encouraging pats on the back, a shared understanding that it is difficult to change a lifestyle but that change is possible and good. We definitely have not earned that, your support, but we're hoping for a bit more grace.

Like I said, we're dramatic people. Thanks for loving us anyway.

Change is in the air...

We're back! And in normal Rule fashion we're diving in head first.

Spring is here, and that makes us itchy for change. What we've been doing just doesn't work anymore. We're "sick and tired of being sick and tired" as Dave Ramsey so lovingly puts it. I've been crunching numbers...we can do this. We've moved, we're still living out of boxes and our current bedroom has got to be the ugliest bedroom on the planet, but I don't care. No more expensive house projects. I will live in that ugly room for 3 1/2 years until that last debt is paid off. We can do it.

I've recently started a new job that has me in my car driving quite a bit. I, not realizing what I was in for, loaded up the iphone (which is now a glorified ipod...more on that later) with about 25 podcasts of the Dave Ramsey show. I've plowed through about 12 of them already. I'm ready to start over. Sam and I have both realized that when we thought we were doing the Dave Ramsey plan, we were slowly working up to the Dave Ramsey plan. We were not intense and intense is what it takes to make this work.

We're intense. We've got a plan and we're sticking to it. Some realizations:

1. We can't have everything and we're not entitled to anything. Just because other people live a certain way does not mean we can or are entitled to. We have got to pay off those student loans before we can choose our lifestyle.
2. "We've got to live like no one else so that later we can live like no one else." Yes, Dave said that. It's so true, though. So, we live without cable tv, we don't go out to dinner, we rent out our basement for some income...we do those things now so that we can be who we want to be as a family later.
3. I didn't spend $25,000 in student loans to be a stay-at-home mama. Yeah, it sounds a bit harsh but it's true. When the $25,000 is paid in full, than I can justify staying home. I don't plan on working ALL the time but I need to work more to bring up our income level to create that gigantic debt bomb we need per payperiod. And then, I can be home with my loves...

Part of our plan: (yes, it includes haircuts by mama).

1. $93,000 (our new total) paid off in 3.5 years = roughly $1020 per payperiod.
2. Rent out our basement by June. We've got some fixing up to do down there but here's hoping some reliable person finds it too good a deal to pass up.
3. Nicole works more. More income = more debt bomb.
4. Live on less. No more iphone. I'm mourning already. We got rid of our at&t plan and switched to us cellular allowing us to get rid of our home phone, too. (at&t cell phones don't work well in the woods). We're getting rid of direct tv. We're cutting our budget down to bare bones and attempting to live on Sam's salary only. This shouldn't be that difficult as family's often live on less. No more eating out. No more frivolous spending. Really, we're broke. You can't have $93,000 in debt and live like you're rich. It's ridiculous. It's going to be difficult...but it has to be done.
5. No more house projects. I keep telling myself, once those debts are paid off, it'll be so easy to save up for a project and get it paid for with cash. It'll take no time at all because our income will be so much larger without those pesky loans. Small projects will still be happening but I have got to contain myself and learn to decorate on a very, very, very tight budget. Another challenge, I can do it!

We'd love to hear what ya'll have to say. Crazy? Brilliant? Somewhere in-between? Any good ideas?

n.

Time flies...

Has it really been almost 2 months...crazy what a newborn, renting a home, buying a new home, packing, unpacking and DIYing a new house will do to your free time. Whew.

We did move. We're loving it. We're about a 10 minute drive from downtown Asheville and while it's been weird to not be able to walk to a coffee shop or live in a city center, we're loving the amenities the woods offer.

Here are some recent pics of life:

before:

after:

Its astonishing how 1 project can make someone else's house, feel like my home.

Next up, the front door. Ugh, black. How inviting, right? 

Elsa, almost 3 months old already.

Halloween 2010

Hiking from the backyard is a beautiful thing.

Seriously, where did he get those eyes?

So, we're doing well. Just ridiculously busy with house projects, unpacking and returning to work. We're trying to slow down a bit now that we live in the "country." It doesn't seem to be working so well, when all I want to do is work more so we can save for that next project! We'll keep you posted on before and afters as they happen and the return to paying off debt...no, we haven't forgotten about Dave Ramsey! But, it sure is nice to have some space!

n.

Life as usual...

What we've been up to...

The Mountain State Fair with family...if only they had rat race (shout out to AK fair)

Growing & smirking...

The nature center with friends...

clowning...

sliding...

cooking compost scraps...

spackling holes with elsa in tow.

we've rented our house & move to our new pad October 9th. We're beyond excited.