Happy Friday!
The rain this week has washed away a lot of the snow, and we can finally see some grass again. The big guys are all about to start their Spring Break week, with Andrew flying to Arizona for his mission trip tomorrow, and JP and Eamon and Eamon's friend driving home this weekend - yay! Franciscan held an Irish fest last night, which they were all able to attend. Eamon (only 19) says he just held the beer for the picture "to look more Irish", as if that kid could look anything but Irish.
Maggie went to Puppy Yoga with some friends, and said it was so cute and fun. They had Australian Shepherd puppies on this day, and they were on sale for $650 each - I wished we could have taken one home. But then Lucy Doodle got into the leftover bread and puked four times, and suddenly I was glad to only have one dog.
Swim Season is over!!! And the angels sang Alleluia. That season started in September, and included 3 practices every week and five swim meets. The last swim meet at University of Rhode Island was crazy busy and hot and crowded and God gave me many talents but being a swim mom is not one of them. We will do anything for our kids though!
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| Brendan fueling up after the meet |
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| Brendan took home second place in his heat for the 50 Back |
What do you do with tons of snow? Put it into dumptrucks and dump it in the river or a "snow farm" which are vacant lots in the area. Makes me want to move to Florida!
Thank you for your advice on my last post. Finances are so stressful and I am trying to find the balance of providing while still balancing family time. I mean, everyone can always pick up more work to earn more income, but at some point we all decide when enough's enough, and I'm just at that point. We are looking at our expenses and trying to figure out what's best for our family. It's just been a month where we found out Declan needs braces (after having been told he would only need a palate expander), the van died unexpectedly (it's a Honda with only 120,000 miles), we got the kids college financial aid letters for next year which are significantly lower than this year, and Maggie found out she doesn't qualify for a great scholarship that Andrew and Eamon had both received because we make $4000 too much. I've applied for a Professional Judgement for our FAFSA due to the number of children in college, so I'm praying that helps. With the cost of everything, I feel like how could we possibly earn any less income, even if it would gain us more potentially in aid and scholarships. Ugh.
Ok enough about that. I know we are BLESSED in so many ways and our cross has always been a financial one, but that's a cross I would rather carry when there are so many other bigger crosses handed out.
I filed our taxes with TaxAct once again, and you can get 20% off if you use this link. I filed all my kids taxes (well, the five who work) for free using FreeTaxUSA.com (no affiliate link, I just think it's super easy to use and FREE).
This weekend, Maggie and Xander are headed on a retreat (Maggie is leading and Xander is participating), we have a basketball game for Declan, Stations of the Cross tonight, and then we get to prepare the house and cook for three hungry college boys coming home on Sunday. I can't wait! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
That must have been a lot of rain to melt 3ft of snow! You guys need some sunny skies!
ReplyDeleteAppealing the FAFSA results is a great idea. I hope the school listens to you!
I love the cardboard beds- clever kids! Enjoy the weekend!-mbmom11
I didn't even know a "Professional Judgement" appeal existed until Maggie tried to apply for a scholarship that told her our SAI was $4000 too high, and when she asked if there was any way she could still apply, they told her to go this route. I'm thankful to have found out about it and praying something good comes of it. I'm hoping because they will all be at the same school, they will be more likely to adjust it.
DeleteOh Professional Judgement seems like a worthwhile pursuit! I will pray it turns out in your favor. And yes, everything is SO expensive right now. Enjoy your time with the big boys home! How lovely for them to be around. I love that "snow farms" mean empty lots. That's funny.
ReplyDeleteAnother new term for me since this blizzard! Makes it sound cuter, oui oui.
DeleteThis might be hard for an accountant mom with a family full of busy and industrious kids…. But consider making (letting?) your kids do their taxes once they’re able to! I am so glad that my dad made me do my own once I had my own to do, and not glad that my in-laws didn’t make my husband do the same since he doesn’t know how, so now I always do it!
ReplyDeleteAlso… major props to you as a later in the kid lineup swim parent… my sister and I swam for our club swim team for years and wow, I can appreciate now what a sacrifice that was for our parents!! Driving us to early practices… sitting through weekend long meets on Mother’s Day… ahhh!!!
That’s a lot of snow and a lot of melting!
ReplyDeleteFeels like financial things tend to come in clumps. Always makes them more stressful. I apologize if my comment that the college kids should pay for the car was harsh sounding! I had meant to add something to the effect of assuming they’re not already contributing to tuition and/or gas/insurance. But… 38 week pregnancy brain apparently thought that part and didn’t actually type it… Hopefully you’ll be able to find a decent used car especially if you have a bunch of lead time. (And I’m sure you’ve considered this, but just in case: is the engine replacement cost actually more than a used car would be and have they had a second opinion on the issue? Just saying that we’ve had a car issue that was not nearly as catastrophic as initially feared! I also know someone who was told it would be $20k for a new engine in their van or $5k for a used engine. Turns out it was A LOT cheaper and easier to just replace with a used engine than get a new-used van.)