My birthday weekend was absolutely incredible. It was exhausting though. We jam packed a lot into four days. Friday was my actual birthday. I worked a half day in office. I had a doctor appointment at 9:30am because I wasn’t feel very well. Someone who had I had been training all week came down with bronchitis and strep throat. I woke up on Thursday morning with a sore throat, no voice, and completely congested. When I went to the doctor on Friday, they ruled everything out, which was great, but I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I went home around 11:30am. I took a strong dose of meds and took a nap. Emerson was at daycare, so I had that freedom. When I woke up, I felt better, so I decided to go shopping. I’m such a big spender. I bought a $5 dress and a $1 romper. Memorial Day sales were amazing! I wish I could have bought more, but I was happy with my $6 splurge.
I had an Olive Garden gift card, so when I got home, a to-go order in for myself and Emerson to eat as my birthday dinner. I also picked up a couple of cupcakes too, so that we could single “Happy Birthday”. After I scooped Emerson from daycare, we headed up to Olive Garden to pick up our dinner. It was scorching hot out, so when we got home, I let him swim for an hour before we ate. Dinner was delicious. Even better, it was free. Afterwards, we sang “Happy Birthday” and Emerson helped me blow out the candles. I let him stay up a little later than usual too. When he went to bed, I rented a movie and made some birthday cake martinis. Being honest, I wasn’t really into them. I don’t drink much and I definitely do not like the taste of liquor. I’m okay with a glass of wine, or even beer, but I do not do liquor anymore. I ended up wasting two martinis. It was a nice birthday though.
On Saturday, my family had a birthday cookout for me at their house. It was really nice. The pool was open too! We swam for a few hours, ate dinner, blew out the candles again, then had red velvet (my favorite) cupcakes. My parents got me a Target gift card, so that I can buy some new pots and pans, which I desperately need. My sister got me a gift certificate for my hair/nail place, which I thought was really nice.
On Sunday, we had big plans to visit the zoo. The weather was supposed to be hot, so we packed extra water. We went in the morning with my sister and nephew. When we were nearly at the end of our tour, it started to rain, but we didn’t even care. It was so hot all day that it was nice walking around in the rain to get cooled off. We had such a great time! Emerson loved it. We got discounted tickets through my company, so the cost was not bad at all. It’s usually $17/person! After the zoo, we went to my parent’s house for a bit. After a late nap, I let him swim in the backyard for a while before dinner and bedtime.
On Monday, we lounged around for most of the day, then decided to finish the day swimming at my parent’s house. It was nice! I got such a nice tan this weekend. Let’s pray for some good weather this upcoming weekend. We’re going to strawberry fest on Saturday. Otherwise, we’ll be in the pool. We’ll probably make a quick park trip too. I’m all about FREE activities to do. The only thing I’ll be paying for is admission to Strawberry fest, which shouldn’t be too bad. After this, we’re not paying to do anything for a few weeks. We’ll swim at my parents, hit the spray park, lake, and water steps. That should hold us over for a while. Enough variety without going broke. We’ve been doing a lot lately, but most of it was free, or heavily discounted. Even still, my wallet needs a break. I don’t get paid for another 9 days either, so we need to just grin and bear it with what we have. I’m pretty creative when it comes to stretching a dollar, so I think we’ll be just fine.
I was reading on Pinterest last night for ideas on how to save money on utilities. I began unplugging every single thing in the house. Obviously, I left the refrigerator plugged in, but the television, cable box, microwave, coffee pot, and baby monitor were all unplugged. All these vampire appliances definitely increase your bill. Now that I have the air conditioners running, I want to be able to save where I can. We’ll see how the next couple of bills are and if I sense a change. I won’t be able to compare this month to next month though because we weren’t using the air conditioners then. We’ll see how it is between July and August. I’m also not filling the bath tub as high when Emerson bathes. I know more water is fun, but now that we’re filling the pool up here and there, I can really use the additional savings. Right now, I do laundry two times a week. I’m cutting that down to once a week. We should have enough to get us through the week without needing more than one wash.
I already save on groceries because I buy no fluff. I am just so sick and tired of living like this. I know I don’t complain much over money. Again, I am pretty savvy. I think it just drives me insane when I know we’re missing out on some things because I can’t afford to take Emerson every single place I want to. My hope is to at least take him to the waterpark in August. That’ll be the next and final major thing that we’ll do this summer. We’ve already gotten the amusement park and zoo out of the way. One day, it won’t be so tight and we can have a bit more freedom. I just get really fed up having to live this way. I don’t even need to be rich. I could stand to have a $100 more to float around throughout the month. Two words start to creep up on me and that’s CHILD SUPPORT. We all know I have yet to file, but it’s getting pretty ridiculous. After I pay ALL of the bills, daycare, groceries, diapers, and gas in the car, we’re left with about $100 for two weeks. That $100 is our entertainment, medicine (knock on wood), clothing, haircuts, and household essentials like toothpaste, toilet paper, and dish liquid. $100 for two weeks is not enough at all for two people let alone a toddler who is constantly growing out of clothing and shoes. Again, I am pretty savvy, but I can only take that so far. Did I mention the fee to have our grass cut comes out of that $100 too. That means we literally have $65 for two weeks to take care of our needs. Heaven forbid its snack day, or school picture date, or something additional like a book fair at daycare.
I just am really tired of living this way. It is wearing me out. His dad is going to have to help me. That’s really all that it comes down to. I’ve already reached out to a friend about potentially working in her hotel on Sundays either cleaning, or working at the front desk. I just need to supplement my income some way. It sucks to have to take more time away from Emerson, but honestly, I am hanging by a thread here. I had to buy a stamp yesterday that cost me about 48 cents. It’s a darn shame that I cringed forking over 2 quarters! I just don’t get why some people think they’re exempt from providing for their child. I do everything on my own and I do all that I can. The least he could do is send Emerson a pair of shoes, or a box of cereal. He really is the epitome of a dead beat.
Alright, I am done with this. Too much negativity for one day.
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