AS's federal refund was deposited yesterday, $1338. Her paycheck also hit and was still $20 more than I expected. I'll have to look at her stub and make sure she's paying her healthcare premiums. (Or maybe it's one of those plans where the employee doesn't have to pay a premium...well, I have to find out what's going on one way or the other.)
So anyway, that means I get to put $1358 into the travel savings, bringing the UK travel fund to $2451. So close to the $3000 minimum goal! Just goes to show that really trying to predict your finances is a bit like playing the stock market. Sometimes when I'm really confident I'll hit a goal, something unforeseen pops up. Other times, when I'm a bit pessimistic and think I won't be able to reach my target, all of a sudden things fall into place and I hit it even sooner than I ever hoped. At this rate, a lot of things would have to screw up for us to miss our goals.
I think I forgot to mention in my last post that I e-mailed my dad on Friday and let him know he could cash the last three $1000 checks, thereby wiping out my debt to him! It may take a while for him to do it, but at least I know I've taken the final step and now just need to sit back and wait for it to happen.
Today was our baby shower with friends (as opposed to the workplace showers). It was very unstructured and fun, just people chatting and snacking and having a good time. The only shower-y thing we did was I opened gifts while everyone watched. It made me really shy and overwhelmed to see all the things people got us and the sweet things they wrote in the cards. I just hoped people could tell how much I appreciated it, because I'm not sure how much I emoted.
Anyway, we're pretty much set for baby to come. All we need now is a carseat (we discovered that the freebie one we found had "expired"), some disposable diapers for the first few days, breast pump and bottles, some swaddling blankets and burp cloths, cloth diaper service (just for the first three months, then we'll clean our own). Eventually we'll need a crib mattress, but we got a nice Moses basket bassinet that we'll be using at first. And we'll need cloth liners for diapers once we start doing it ourselves (someone gave us several outer diapers, but we might have to supplement that with a few more). Several of these things can be purchased at the hospital, and their prices are actually quite competitive!
Tomorrow the baby is full term, meaning it can come anytime with no cause for concern. Our due date is March 8. Whether or not the baby comes by then, I'm starting my maternity leave then (unless of course it comes sooner). I haven't had any signs that the baby is impatient to come early, so my feeling is that it will be on time or a little late.
The mixture of calm and extreme excitement I feel as we prepare for this is just indescribable! It's definitely something I wouldn't have been able to understand before actually going through it.
Still more toward travel fund; loan from dad; baby shower
February 15th, 2010 at 05:07 am
February 15th, 2010 at 05:14 am 1266210851
February 15th, 2010 at 01:45 pm 1266241557
February 15th, 2010 at 02:08 pm 1266242913
(My eldest - had pre-labor for MONTHS, and lost the mucous plug and all that. We had to force him out a week after his due date. The youngest? No signs - arrived 2 weeks early. He was so much easier on me!
February 15th, 2010 at 03:24 pm 1266247472
February 15th, 2010 at 03:37 pm 1266248257
February 15th, 2010 at 04:45 pm 1266252338
Glad to see your travel fund's growing nicely... plan for the future but enjoy the present, too.
February 15th, 2010 at 04:47 pm 1266252454
February 15th, 2010 at 09:33 pm 1266269613
February 16th, 2010 at 12:33 am 1266280409
February 16th, 2010 at 03:32 am 1266291172
She'll have more time to make the diaper liners, so she's hoping at least to get to do those.
February 16th, 2010 at 07:35 pm 1266348913