Baby Nowell #2 plans to arrive sometime around May 28!
I may post more details about this little one’s journey, but for now we are so excited and cannot wait to hold this little one in our arms!
One Day
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
Four Months
Five Months
Six Months
Seven Months
Eight Months
Nine Months
Ten Months
Eleven Months
Twelve Months/One Year!
By the third week, I wasn’t doing so good. I yearned to go out to eat and I hadn’t done meal planning, so I caved. And I continually told myself, “It’s ok not to make it, it’s not like we don’t have the money.” BUT, after that night of eating out, I was determined to keep going. Meal planning resumed and we took some things into our own hands – changing our own oil and learning how to make mocha frappacinos.
Week 3 spending: $42
Clearance t-shirt for Saier: $3
Oil and items to change oil in 2 cars: $37
Returns to Wal-mart: <$20>
Safety items (little dude is on the move now!): $4
CVS: $1
Unknown: $17
The fourth week was also hard because there are so many children’s clothing sales going on right now. I was able to buy a few items because we had plenty of money, but I caught myself wanting to buy more and more, even when we don’t really have the need. Luckily, the cash system was in place, so I refrained from spending too much.
Week 4 spending: $58
Going out to eat: $24
Clothes for Saier (all on clearance!): $9
Craft project: $3
Household/: $3
Ice cream celebration: $11
CVS: $3
Splash park: $5
We’ve already decided we’re going to go out Sunday to celebrate, so we’re saving the money for lunch that day. But, we’ll probably still have a few bucks leftover after that meal.
Money left: $27 (and only 2 days left!)
The first week was really good in terms of not spending. There have been several opportunities for us to go out to eat (me not planning dinner), but other than that, no temptations have arose. Instead of going to Target one day, I took Saier to the park and got out pots and pans to play with (all free!). We’ve been to the splash park, regular park, library, had a play date, and spent time with family for the 4th of July. And, I spent money on a new cell phone, but it will cut our current bill in half!
Week 1 spending: $38
Splash park: $5
New cell phone: $20
Cat food/washcloths: $13
The 2nd week we went on a mini vacation, so that led to some unexpected spending, but it was well worth it. We went out to eat a few times, but other than that, didn’t spend much. I have been enjoying staying home with Saier more and more, especially now that he’s crawling! And, I’ve been cooking more this week, which keeps me from going out and spending money.
Week 2 spending: $85
Sonic (several different trips): $14
Medicine for son: $3
Drinks for road trip: $4
Going out to eat (x2): $46
Unknown: $18 (it’s harder to keep track of where we spend money since we’re using cash. I’m personally not a fan of the cash system, but hey, it’s only for one month.)
Money left: $127 (slightly more than half!)
Here we go! This month (July) we are participating in No Spend Month. We are not actually spending nothing, but completely cutting down our budget this month. Just like the Small Notebook, we won’t include items like mortgage, utilities, tithing, donations, savings, and health expenses.
We are also not including groceries or gas. Why? Well, Sean has to work in order for us to pay for everything that I’ve already mentioned, and he has to have gas to get himself to work. For me, I have found that getting out is crucial to the stage I’m at for motherhood and it’s in our best interests to let me continue to get out whenever possible to keep my motor running. As for groceries, we want to encourage ourselves to eat in more, so keeping our grocery budget in tack will help that.
So, what does that leave? Everything else. We usually use that money on:
This month we are limiting ourselves to $250 to spend on all the stuff I mentioned above. We usually have a lot more than that. We are using a cash-only system so that will keep us aware of how much money we have left. I hope to spend little the first week to help us make it through the month better.
I know I am going to be tempted. I love going out to eat. I LOVE shopping clearance clothing racks for my son and a lot of stores are having good summer deals right now. Fortunately, one of my good friends is going to do the challenge as well, so we’ll be able to encourage and pray for each other.
My plan: find free things to do and avoid kid’s clothing stores (and Target and Kohl’s). This weekend there is a Hot Air Balloon Festival and of course grilling out with the family on July 4th.
July 1 spending: $5 ($245 left)
Several weeks ago I participated in National Screen Free Week. It was amazing to say the least.
I cut off TV, internet, computer, and limited my cell phone usage. I don’t have a fancy smart phone, so there was no screen to play on. 
So, what did I do all week?
What are the long-term results of this experiment?
our computer crashed a while ago…luckily my man saved everything and is fixing it. I love being married to a computer nerd! So, needless to say, no pics. Moving on…
I feel like I constantly struggle with being a full-time mom and wanting a career. I’m a career gal at heart – grew up in Silicon Valley during the dot com boom, love business, love success and achievement, am competitive, and love rising to the top of whatever I’m doing – so naturally it took me a while to get used to this whole stay-at-home mom gig. I’ve read a few good books on the topic (Family Drive Faith, Professionalizing Motherhood) and have struggled with my perceptions internally and have come to realize the true value in staying at home and not working outside the home when you have kids. Right now, I feel like home is where I need to be and feel like I need to be here for the entirety of my child(ren)’s life. (That may change, but that’s what I’m thinking now). And that’s not to say I may work part-time or as a consultant, but that my family should be my focus and not my career. And I generally enjoy staying at home with Saier and cannot wait to homeschool one day. Yea, I said homeschool.
BUT…
There are those days when I desire to have a job and a future career. I get tempted. I want to be out of the house and neglect my mothering duties, and be selfish. I truly think that’s the core of the problem. I’m selfish. These days come about when I get an email about a job announcement or when I’m bored and searching for part-time jobs online. Just the other day a “PERFECT” job announcement came into my inbox and that’s when the feelings of struggle began….maybe I should just unsubscribe to the emails? Yes, I think I may, but that’s not going to stop me from randomly searching for jobs in my spare time. I have all the good places bookmarked or memorized in my web browser for easy access. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I struggle with this so often? Will this struggle ever go away or will it be something I continually have to deal with?
note: Sean has NEVER asked me, told me, or persuaded me to stay at home. This feeling/calling is my own.
Every Christian who has kids or wants kids needs to read this book. A-mazing.
Yesterday I read about family worship time. Voddie points out that our culture (yes, even Christian culture) places more emphasis on education, sports, social activities, etc. than on God. How many families have family worship time together? Do families really place God above sports, education, etc.? What I loved was how he painted the picture of how we can worship God – using all our senses. We can sing (hearing), eat together (taste/smell), have Christian symbols like Scripture, pictures, etc. around our house (sight), and have special Bibles or something else that we can thumb through that reminds us of Christ (touch).
I can’t wait to see what the Nowell family worship time will look like over the years.
Does your family worship together in any way? What does it look like?
“Our homes must be rife with the aroma of love. Those who visit us should notice immediately that they have left the world of self-serving, egocentric narcissism and have entered a safe harbor where people value and esteem others above themselves. Outsiders should enter our homes and never want to leave. Our neighbors should find excuses to visit us just to get another whiff of the fragrant aroma of love. The broken hearted should long to be near us The downtrodden and the abused should seek us out. Families on the brink of disaster should point to us and say, ‘Why can’t our home be like that?’”
From Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
I love this paragraph. I read it last night and had to read it out loud to Sean I was so mesmerized by the idea of “aroma of love.” I long for our home to be that way. For our own family and for outsiders. I want outsiders to feel like insiders and for everyone who crosses the threshold of our entryway to feel warm, comfortable, welcome, and loved. But, why stop at our home? I want for others to long to be around us because we ourselves are welcoming, loving, and kind. Obviously, a home is characterized by the people loving in it, not just the way it looks. So, if I can’t be loving outside of my home, then my home is not going to be a place of love. I must love at all times and then, only then, will my home be a place filled with the aroma of love.
How do you fill your house with love?