Another car repair!? I'm so sorry!!! I was goign to go shopping today for groceries and realized that I could make due! We are having chicken noodle soup (I had the broth from a chicken we had last week). I just needed noodles. So, my ds volunteered to make them! Woohoo! I wonder how long I can do this?

My favorite vacation!!! We've been on four Disney cruises. Three in January and one in October. We are booked on our fifth this August. January was perfect because we were escaping the winter weather here. It was nice and warm on the cruise, but not too hot. In October, it was still very hot. I'm sure we'll be hot in August. I'd prefer to go in January, but the August cruises were cheaper. We have stayed in inside cabins and balcony cabins. Definitely spring for the balcony if you can afford it! Sitting on our balcony watching the sun set or the water on the side of the ship is absolutely wonderful. I have a young daughter who goes to bed early. In the inside cabin, I was stuck there with her with NO view!!! With the balcony I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. We've never booked concierge. We'd rather vacation twice a year than have once a year with concierge. So, I can't speak to that. After the kids are out of the house, dh and I will try it! Definitely take advantage of Disney's alcohol policy!! It will save you a TON of money - even if you don't drink much. A couple drinks a day really adds up. Do a little searching and find out which travel agent is offering the best on board ship credit. We've used Dreams Unlimited for all our cruises and received anywhere from $200 - $300 per cabin. We used that to pay for our tips! Get the Disney Visa card. You'll earn Disney dollars and can use them to pay for the cruise or anything you buy on the cruise. The cost of the cruise is just the start of what you will spend! So, budget carefully. There's flight and transportation to the port (or a hotel and parking if you drive), tips (!!!), drinks, photos (there are SO many opportunities and the pictures are SOOOOO good!), etc, etc, etc. Also if you re-book on board, you'll get a 10% discount on your next cruise. You can book a "dummy" date and change it as many times as you need. You can also transfer that reservation to a travel agent at a later date to get their ship credit. Buy trip insurance. Ours paid out over $43,000 for my son's appendectomy when we were cruising in Mexico! Get to the port hotel a day early. Don't risk not getting there!

Updates below. Dh got more "extra" money for another funeral he's doing today. We had to spend some more non-budgeted money on parking and entrance to my dd's gymnastics meet. And, I sold something else on line - more vacation money!!!! I still have to grocery shop today, but I think I can do that for less than $50!!! I want to be able to fit in a trip to the meat store within my monthly budget (I don't usually do that - usually it's a separate category). This month I've been in the kitchen a LOT!!! But, I love saving money! Goals: Groceries (including all household items): $200/$700 Medical: $150/$100 (MRSA is expensive!!!) Gas: $97/$550 Kids' activities: $880/$1700 Things I'm going to try to curb this month and I hope to bank the difference in our vacation account: Eating out: 0!!! Coffee: 0!!! Added stuff we bought that wasn't budgeted: $150 for trip insurance for a trip in August, $23 for parking for our August trip (it was cheaper to buy it now!), parking/entrance for dd's gymnastics meet: $25 Extra income (hopefully!): Goal: $555/$400 (Dh occasionally gets "tips" for his services as a priest - wedding, funerals, etc. He has a funeral next week. I also hope to sell some things on line. And, that will be banked in our vacation account!!)

Ugh. Don't you hate that?!!

Can you consider driving? We save a TON of money by driving to Florida. We LOVE the Gulf side. Check out VRBO for rentals on Anna Maria Island. Gorgeous beaches.

All my kids do Tang Soo Do. None of them have been injured beyond a bruise or a black eye. Oops - my dh reminds me of the time our son had to go to the ER to take a piece of velcro out of his eye that he got from taking apart the mats! :)

YES!!!! We didnt' and wish we had. Bring a doll with you!

Yes. IF you plan on spending a LOT of money!!! :) It's an amazing store and it will make you want to turn your paycheck over to the store!!! My dd LOVED it!!!

LOL!!! I guess I should explain that every time I type something in like that heh? The funeral next week is someone we don't know, which makes it much easier!

Okay - had some spending. $600 for rowing payment. Dh had a funeral and brought home some extra money! Our big spending was on medical, putting us over budget. One just can't budget a medical emergency! Our 12 yo has probable MRSA. Goals: Groceries (including all household items): $200/$700 Medical: $150/$100 (This is the month we need a buy our kids' medications!) Gas: $97/$550 (This is a KILLER!!) Kids' activities: $880/$1700 (Again, this month is a KILLER - payments for rowing, gymnastics, orchestra, and karate are all due. But, it's all budgeted.) Things I'm going to try to curb this month and I hope to bank the difference in our vacation account: Eating out: 0!!! Coffee: 0!!! Added stuff we bought that wasn't budgeted: $150 for trip insurance for a trip in August, $23 for parking for our August trip (it was cheaper to buy it now!) Extra income (hopefully!): Goal: $335/$400 (Dh occasionally gets "tips" for his services as a priest - wedding, funerals, etc. He has a funeral next week. I also hope to sell some things on line. And, that will be banked in our vacation account!!)

Interesting. My dh does this. I always figured it was because he was an extrovert. He talks a lot. I don't. I'm an introvert. Could that be the difference?

Can you call the dealership and ask what the deal is?

It did fly by! And, I'm loving this accountability! So, while my goal wasn't to have a certain number of no-spend days, I am happy to report I didn't spend any money yesterday! But, today will be a different story. My husband is off to Urgent Care with ds12 due to what looks like a staph infection on his knee. Yuck. That'll probably be about $40 (urgent care copay and then the antibiotic). So, I'll update my totals later.

My kids get swollen nodes all the time!!!! One of my kids has a HUGE one that never went away. It's behind his ear. Doesn't hurt him at all. Doctors have all played with it. Blood work is normal. They've left it alone. It's been there for 13 years. so, these sure can be normal!!

I just heard about this ministry from a friend at church in your exact situation. Seriously - it's eerie. She did one of these retreats and got a lot out of it. And, it was in our area. PM me if you'd like her contact info. I'm pretty sure she's open to sharing.

We have a store near here that takes trash and turns it in to craft projects. Organizations can buy the projects really cheap! They travel to the inner city to take the crafts to the kids. They host birthday parties too. It's a really neat place!!

Oh no!!! I'm so sorry! I just found someone who colors my hair for a fraction of the cost I was getting it done before. I LOVE my new person. Seriously - gorgeous color for $35. Shhhhhhh. Don't tell her it's so cheap!!! I was paying $150 before!!! AND, she's comfortable with curly/wavy hair and doesn't try to get me to straighten it every single time I go in!!

http://www.carnival....=N&pCompare=PNS Hm. Shoot. It goes to their home page. I searched for cruises out of Charleston, SC in April and it was the first one that came up.

Okay - I love a challenge. I just searched in April and found a cruise that leaves out of Charleston, SC - so the drive wouldn't be too bad! Five nights on Carnival stopping at Freeport and Nassau. Cheapest room is $319/pp.

I was going to say a cruise too! But, instead of flying, drive down to save money. Our family went on a cruise (Royal Caribbean) in January. Six nights for $2500 for six of us!!! Pretty awesome deal. I bet you could find something like that! Keep in mind that added to cruise costs are the incidentals on the ship (they can really add up - so be careful!) and the tips. We got off this last ship owing ONLY for tips, one photo, and a couple drinks. And, if you want to do Disney, I bet a bunch of us could help you do it for under $2000!

I count that!!! Found money! In our house that goes straight into the vacation fund! Where do you live? How cold does it get outside? And, how cold does it get at night if you turn off the heat? I've considered that. But, would it cost more to get it back up to our daytime temp than it would just to leave it low at night? It gets really cold here at night - it's been in the single digits for a while. So! How'd it go? Did you attack the waitress? We spend a LOT each month. I've just been using this thread as accountability. I budget at the beginning of the month and try to stick to it. Post on my spending. Knowing I have to post it keeps me on my lists at the stores!!! This month, you can see our budget for the kids' activities below! It's CRAZY!!! MY UPDATES BELOW Goals: Groceries (including all household items): $200/$700 Medical: $90/$100 (This is the month we need a buy our kids' medications!) Gas: $97/$550 (This is a KILLER!!) Kids' activities: $280/$1700 (Again, this month is a KILLER - payments for rowing, gymnastics, orchestra, and karate are all due. But, it's all budgeted.) Things I'm going to try to curb this month and I hope to bank the difference in our vacation account: Eating out: 0!!! Coffee: 0!!! Added stuff we bought that wasn't budgeted: $150 for trip insurance for a trip in August, $23 for parking for our August trip (it was cheaper to buy it now!) Extra income (hopefully!): Goal: $85/$400 (Dh occasionally gets "tips" for his services as a priest - wedding, funerals, etc. He has a funeral next week. I also hope to sell some things on line. And, that will be banked in our vacation account!!) 2/6: Saved gas money by combining trips! Meg's gymnastics club is near Sam's Club and a veggie market. I spent $68 at Sam's (on THREE things grrrrrr - all needed and the cheapest place to buy them), and $25 at the veggie market. Also paid for another prescription - $60. But, that included our annual deductible of $50 on that child, so the rest of the year will be cheaper for him. On the positive side, I sold something else on line!!!

St. Louis?

Nope. No second guessing yourself. You called the nurse. She gave you advice and you followed it. Nothing wrong with that. You watched your son and followed your gut. He got in and is being seen. You did a great job in this situation!!! Hang in there.

What Cat said. In fact, if you can reach your dh - have the receptionist call an ambulance now. That's where he's headed anyway - get him there ASAP!!! (((hugs))) I can imagine your fear right now. I'll pray not only for your son, but also for you. Can you get someone to watch your other kids so you can meet them?

Praying like crazy here!!!!