Simply the Smith's

I normally do a day in the life post on a day that I get up and out and head to work.  Well I decided to do one on Friday when I'm home and this past Friday just happened to be a day that Grayson had a half day of school so it's extra special. 6:15- I'm up. I could sleep in but I find my day goes smoother when I'm not summoned from my bed by the small people that run my house. I get up feed Riley and make my cup of coffee. I turn on the tree and usually shoot a text to Michael to let him know I'm up and what time I can schedule our grocery pick up for ( this depends on his work load for the day) I finish that up and turn on a Hallmark Christmas movie because tis' the season 7:00 I hear Grayson starting to stir in his room and I run and shut off the tree just so he can turn it on because he loves it so much. Michael insists that this is over the top but oh well I still do it. Grayson comes down the stairs we find our elf who brought baking supplies a...

When I was pregnant with the twins Michael dubbed us the Smith Squad and now Grayson refers to us as the quite often and I kind of love it. So here is a little update on my Smith Squad Grayson Is thriving in Kinder. Exceeding my expectations. He is friendly to all and does well with his assignments. He is writing more and more and starting to read. At his teacher conference she used the words kind to describe him and that just makes a parents heart fill right up.  He is my budding artist. He will come home from school pull out a notebook and just draw until dinner. It's different everyday but he explains them in their entirety to us before bed each night. He even made Baby Jordyn a book for her birthday it was the sweetest thing ever. He is still in love with Hockey and even though we decided to take a session off from his hockey clinic we are so glad we did because he has the opportunity to play with a program run by the Buffalo Sabres alumni and so he will do...

Marshall and Charlotte have reached that phase. You know the one where you can do everything the exact same way that you did it the day before however on this day it's just not right? Yeah that one. The one that makes you turn into a full on crazed person. Sissy and Marshy go to daycare 2 days a week. I'm solo on those days to get them ready and so I try to streamline that process as best I can. I lay clothes out the night before from start to finish including diapers and shoes I have everything ready to go so that when they are dressed we walk out the door. The last thing I need is them getting involved in a TV show or some toy and having that battle. I bring them down they both have to be touching me in the morning because they hate waking up early. I get Marshall dressed first most days that is fine but some days it's not. Some days he acts like the floor is hot lava and he arches his back until I'm sweating just trying to hold him down long enou...

Grayson is in full day school now. Kinder to be exact. Last year he was in pre-K and was home until the bus picked him up around noon. This year the bus picks him up around 8:45. He has been home all summer with Marshall and Charlotte and those three have become so bonded together. They are the 3 Musketeers. So on the first day that he had to go to school and they stayed home it was Friday. My day home with them. Wake. Up. Call. Grayson was such a helper with them and I never even knew it until he wasn't there. The first half an hour he was gone I was dragged from my seat where I normally get to enjoy my first cup of coffee no less than 20 times. At first I was baffled at how much they needed me, it took me until hour two of Grayson being gone to realize that he was the one that dressed them in their dress up costumes and subsequently undressed them .25 seconds later when they changed their minds Have I mentioned how fun 2 year olds are? He was the one that fou...

He was ready. We had been to meet the teacher/supply drop off night and had his outfit all picked out. Why was this harder for me than him? He had already done the whole bus ride thing going to Pre-K. Was it because this was a whole day? He was riding a big bus? I'm not sure but I will tell you this I cried when that bus pulled away.  He came off the bus with smiles and the standard answer of "I don't know " when asked what he did at school.  I guess that makes it a success. Up and eating breakfast Caught Daddy sneaking pictures Our handsome Kindergartner Must show the back of the backpack because duh it's Star Wars  Quick family shot A great first day!!! And just for fun check out last year I mean so much has changed in one year

Summer has come and gone all too quickly It really is only 8 weeks and those are a packed full 8 weeks We started summer off with a fun 4th of July party at Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jared's house It was so hot that day it was like the surface of the sun but I packed that giant 30 mesh bag of icees  and handed them out to all the kids and even some grownups. Anything to stay cool and a little hydrated  They splashed in the pool and we partied way way late for us 9:30 ha! It was great kick off to summer The rest of the summer was spent swimming for hours on end in our pool Adding that deck was the best thing ever. We used the pool twice as much as last summer We did have a pretty big bump this summer Grayson ended up with 4 stitches after he tripped on my foot and flew into the baseboard heat register Him and I were upstairs getting ready for bed. I had just put the twins down and he was picking out a book. He was sitting on the ed...

May and June were 2 of the busiest month we have had in a while and so updating out debt journey took a back seat. So in the months of June and July we paid off $6000 worth of debt! We are so excited!!! We originally had September as a goal to having the truck paid for but with cash flowing things we are shooting for November if not sooner. Once this truck is paid off this will be the first car that I have owned since we have been married. I was stuck in the buying/leasing a new car cycle and I'm proud to be off that wheel. $6000 is a great number and we are still on track to hit our original goal of being debt free except the house by August of 2019. I still sometimes have to sit back and think about how much our behavior has changed. We do not have a single credit card. Not one. This time last year we have 5 credit cards. That in and of itself is such a huge accomplishment. Another aspect of this that has been such an eye opener is talking to Grayson about mon...

At the end of June Grayson Michael made his first trek across the stage wearing a cap and received his diploma that says he officially completed Pre-K. They sang songs, which is so cute because they all just yell the songs and it's kind of hard to understand the words really. One of the songs was set to the Frozen song Let it Go and it was really sweet.  They had packets for each kid in the back of the aud so that the parents could grab the packet on the way in which included their diploma and some workbooks for over the summer Then they announced each name and the kids got to get their "diploma" which was a tube of bubbles. After we all went outside for a picnic and playing on the play ground. Let me just say we did not stay long. Why? Oh, Marshall and Charlotte thought that it would be fun to run in opposite directions towards a very busy road. So we ate and booked it out of there to go home and rest and share some cooki...

I wanted to document what our life looks like while Grayson is in Pre-K and Marshall and Charlotte are still going to daycare 5:00- My alarm goes off I hit snooze once and roll out of bed around 5:15 5:15-6:00- I get dressed, do my makeup, let the dog out and make my lunch. I also layout the clothes for the kids and get my coffee and their milk for the car ride.  6:00-6:25- My Dad shows up a little after 6, on Wednesday and Thursday he comes to my house spends the morning with Grayson and gets him on the bus for Pre-K (more on that later) I wake up Marshall and Charlotte, Sissy hates to get woken up and Marshall usually pops right up. I take him downstairs get him dressed and ready to go, I'm talking shoes and coat on. Then I go back up and pry the princess from her bed. If Grayson is awake he gets her out of her crib and she is happy. If he is not awake and I have to do it she usually cries and fights me on getting dressed.I get them both ready and loaded up i...

I have been MIA for way to long on the debt updates. But don't worry we have been plugging along We bought a new car. And we cash flowed a ton of it We traded in the mini van that was more than we wanted to spend on a van anymore and we got a 2012 GMC Acadia  We reduced our debt by $5,000 and we put a down payment down of 4,000 We are hoping to have it paid off by September. We had a few emergencies that we had to cover and they are all small but when added together more than we would like but again we are focusing on the positive which is our behavior modification of not charging anymore I mean 3 years ago if our video monitor had stopped charging we would have charged a brand new one this time we had to wait save up the money and buy a new one.  We also cash flowed a deck for our pool I know I know we are in baby step#2 but this was something we knew we needed to be able to use our pool this summer because it's impossible to carry 2 y...

Here we are and we have two 2 year old! It's crazy because I feel like we were just bringing them home. Time is not my friend Dear Charlotte, Baby girl where to start. Well you are loved. You are the perfect definition of a sour patch kid and you live up to your red hair. You have both of your brothers wrapped around your finger. They give into your every wimper and demand. You are a little mama already. You are the first to run to anyone in need. You will say "oh sowwy mommy" when anything happens. Like I stubbed my toe the other day and you came over patted my arm and said "You ok mommy? I sowwy you need kiss?" It was so sweet. You yell to me anytime one if your brothers is crying. "Mommy Sayson cwying!" You say this over and over until I come and see what's going on. You are still not the best sleeper but we have made great strides. We finally bit the bullet and just pushed through a few hard weeks with you. But you now go ...

5 years ago today I was blessed with this little (big) nugget Grayson, You are so sweet. That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of you. You are kind to everyone you meet. You get shy but you always give people a smile. When we had our parent-teacher conference your teacher told us that everyone in your class and the other class wants to be around you because you always say hi and offer encouraging words. My heart just about burst because those are words every Mamma wants to hear.  You are so into sports. You just finished your first section of hockey and you loved it so much we are signing you up for the second one that starts in April. You also wanted to play t-ball and so we have you signed up for that as well.  You are still an amazing big brother. I think you have gotten better because they can play with you now and so you just want them with you all the time. It s really cute and wonderful.  You are obsesse...

Happy March!! February marked a huge milestone for us we are offically done with credit card debt!!!!! We have paid them all of and closed them. WE ARE CREDIT CARD FREE!!!!!! That is so nice to say... So this month we paid of $2,224.56 in debt We also cash flowed $535 for oil And then we had to use our emergency fund......(insert the womp womp sound here) We had a huge hot water tank debacle. So at the beginning of the month we noticed that we had a small leak on the seam of our hot water tank. We decided that we would finish paying off the credit card and then save up for a hot water tank. Well we paid off our credit card and paid for the oil and then the small leak was not so small anymore. So we used our emergency fund to pay for the emergency and got a new hot water tank. We shopped deals and found a good brand for a great price and a pretty hefty rebate. Michael and my Dad installed it on Sunday. On Tuesday it was leaking. Yes the new one was leaking. On...

Is it just me or is laundry crazy We have 5 people in our house Towels alone for the week are 16-20 towels......a week You have bedding for 4 beds so that is 4 fitted sheets, we are blanket people to at least 2 blankets per bed so 8 blankets and then 10 pillow cases. That alone is 4 loads of laundry Clothes The kids clothes are smaller but man they go through more. They each have a pair of pj's per day and Sissy and Marshall have a undershirt to go with that. Then they have an outfit for the day. Plus socks. So in one day we amass 3 pairs of pj's, 4 undershirts, 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of pants, and 3 sets of socks. Kids clothes alone I do 3 loads of laundry a week because for sure at least 2 days a week someone spilled on themselves and so outfit changes it is. During hockey season that is a whole load by it self. Michael has a load of work clothes And then we do two loads of our laundry. 11-12 loads of laundry a week......I get why the Duggars needed all...

Here is a day in the life that I never hit publish on because I was so deep in what I thought at the time was my peak of survival now 2 years later I see that survival just morphs and changes all the time. So here is Novemebr of 2016 what our life with 7 month old twins and a curious 3 year old. Also they look so little I feel like a was more organized and I need to work on getting back on the work out train. I guess I'm in the season of survival. At least that is what it feels like. My day starts early. 4:15. I do hit the snooze once and roll out of bed no later than 4:30. I have my clothes laid out so that helps and I'm downstairs to get everything around. I make my coffee, finish up lunches, do my hair and make up (which spoiler alert is a pony tail and a quick swipe of mascara!) I check and make sure bags are all around and then I feed Riley. 5:30. I start getting the kids up (if they aren't already) Grayson takes a while to wake up so I get him up firs...

About 2 weeks ago I got a call from the school nurse regarding Grayson. My first thought went to that he was sick. But she said no he is fine. The words she spoke next made me so very confused "Graysons teacher has noticed that he was having trouble with his colors so she brought him down to be tested for Color blindness and he has failed the test so we recommend that you get him looked at by his pediatrician" I'm pretty sure I responded with "Um what?" because this was the first we had heard of any concern over him knowing his colors. She sent home the test results and the next day I called our Dr. In talking to the Dr he decided that the best course of action was to go directly to a pediatric ophthalmologist who specializes in this.  Thankfully there is an amazing one about an hour from us and they got him in the following week. So Michael took off Friday and my Mom came to watch Marshall and Charlotte and off we went to our 9:15 appointment...

So I last updated our Baby Step #2 in October. We were just starting to tackle our last credit card and well next week we are making our final payment on that! In the last 3 months we have paid $6,456.00 off in debt!!!!! We are beyond excited with that number. We are on track to pay off that credit card with the last payment on Friday!!!!! Then it is on to the last two loans. So we have 48,000 left to pay and in crunching the numbers the next loan should be paid off by November (we are pushing for September!) and then we will be onto the last student loan. It is just crazy and it is exciting. But so so hard. I'm not going to act like it is easy. We are sacrificing, we are scrapping, scrounging and some nights I'm all "Hey guess what it's cereal for dinner again!". This is a marathon. This is a commitment. I have bad days where saying no just seems like the only thing we say. So we have built in little rewards for ourselves. Li...

Yikes I took a break and not even on purpose.... Life got busy and my job got crazy and well I had to cut something out to make my days a little less hectic. Things have simmered down a little bit around here for the time being and so I'm going to attempt some updates. I will have a debt post up tomorrow it's super exciting!!!!! Wednesday I have plans for a quick update on the kids....they are changing by the second it seems and I want to capture the magic (and rip your hair out) moments that we are in right now. We have a fun spring project planned and I'm going to share a little bit about that too. I'm dipping my toe back into the whole blogging thing I missed it really and truly and I'm setting aside some time each week to make one to two posts happen.