I did it! I kept it a surprise from the kids (so far at least!). Bill and I will be taking the kids to Disney on Ice tonight!  We may need some medical Supplies when Madison figures out where we are going!  They are going to be sooooo excited!  All Madison knows at this point is that we have a surprise for her and Will.  My kids are huge fans of Disney on Ice, so I know tonights show will not disappoint (and since it is on ice we don’t have to worry about burn care for any one!).  I’m debating if we should tell them on the way there or wait till we get there or let her figure it out herself.  Decisions, decisions . . . . .

Will you be attending Disney on Ice while they are here?  Are your kids fans of Disney on Ice?  (Side note:  Disney on Ice Toy Story 3 will be coming in January.  We aren’t telling the kids that either.  Will is a huge Toy Story fan, so he will freak when we go to that show!!!!).

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Okay, maybe it wasn’t.  Maybe it was just because we don’t have a memory foam mattress.  I don’t know, but this dream definitely ranks in the top ten for bad.

Now, I’ve had your run of the mill bad dreams before.  Everybody has those.  I do not even normally remember those.  It is the dreams that cut to the core that freak you out — it is the dreams about your kids.  I have dreamed I have had a miscarriage (while I was pregnant and since I had one before that it was a little freaky), I’ve dreamed that one of my kids died before, but last night ranks up their with both of these.  I dreamed that Will had a grand mal seizure.

Now, Will doesn’t have epilepsy.  The only seizure he has had in his life, I was on plane when it happened (he was home with my mother in law.  Let’s just say that babysitting job didn’t pay well enough for what happened).  It was ruled as an abnormal febrile seizure, and he’s never had one since.

I’m afraid to google to see what it means.  LOL  However, I just can’t figure out where that came from.  We spent the day at Great America yesterday with the kids, and they had a blast.  I was dead tired when we came home.  I didn’t even the mattress toppers on my bed last night; I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillows!

So anybody want to take a stab at the meaning behind this dream?

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Those are three words I never thought I’d put together in one sentence. However, on our ride to Green Bay last weekend (the 4 hours it was), Bill and I get to talk.  The kids watched a My Little Pony Movie.

A couple of weeks ago, our bank that holds our mortgage called us.  I know — freak time!  However, it was for something good.  They want us to refinance our first mortgage.  Yes, we are up to date on our payments which is why I guess we got picked for this program.  No appraisal, no closing costs, and they would drop our mortgage 1 percentage point.  It sounded like a no brainer for us, so we did it.  Oh yeah, it saves us money on our monthly mortgage payment too.  So how does this go into financial goal planning?

Well, when we took out our mortgage, we also took out a second mortgage (used some of that $ to fix our basement) and did it to get rid of PMI (which at the time was NOT tax deductible).  That second mortgage has a high interest rate and an interest only payment.  When we took out that loan, I figured out a monthly payment that would have us pay that off at the same time we were suppose to pay off the mortgage.  Well, at least I thought I did.  Idiot here (that would be me), somehow messed that up pretty good.  Instead of paying it off when the mortgage should have been paid off, ummmm, — if I keep making the payment I am now — we will pay that thing off in 6 years.  Whoops!  Granted it is a whoops in our favor.

This is where goal planning takes place — what do we do with the money we will save each month?  Well, we are putting it the second mortgage of course!  Our goal is to get as debt free as we can.   I’d love to not use the money I make to pay Madison’s school tuition.  I’d love to start a retirement fund for me.  I’d love to start college funds for the kids.  However, we’ve been planning all along.  Before we make big purchases like my husbands big screen tv or living room furniture or even dining room furniture, we set aside the money.  If you can believe it, we hide money from ourselves.  I go with the out of sight, out of mind theory.  If the store has financing (like Best Buy with the tv), we take it and make interest on the money (I love 3 years no interest!).  We use a credit card that takes 1% of whatever we charge and applies it to the principal of our mortgage.

Now, I had the bank figure out how long it’ll take if we take that extra cash and put it on the second mortgage.  They said about a year and half to pay that off!  Needless to say, we are excited.

Now, last week, we got the statement for the van.  The van we bought in 2006 for 0% interest.  (Like I said, though we spend a lot, we try to be smart about it). We have six months left of payments and that baby is paid off.  We’ll then take that extra money and hopefully through that on the second mortgage too!  So as long as nothing else goes wrong in our lives (and we all know it will), we are looking at maybe paying off the second mortgage in a year or year and half!  At that point, we’ll probably start working on paying off Bill’s Prius and a Menard’s bill if I don’t have it paid off by then!

(Note:  As I wrote this, Daisy started pooping blood and had to take her to the vet.  She’s just got a parasite, but it goes to show you how the best laid plans can go to crap — pun intended — in a heartbeat).

With all this being said, it is a great feeling seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  If we can really buckle down, we can maybe do this even quicker!  (However, Christmas is coming up and that will mess up the money savings).  What financial goals do you have for your family?

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I’ll be honest — I’ve got a lot of cancer running in my family tree.  Now, they are all different kinds of cancer, but cancer nonetheless.  That is why I try to keep on the newest and greatest research and vaccines that are out there for both me and my kids. The HPV vaccines that are out right now are for girls/women ages 9 – 26 and help protect against the two types of HPV that are most commonly associated with cervical cancer. Now, this helps for the next generation of women. But what about us who don’t fall into this age bracket?

Have no fear. This is something we can do if you are over thirty (which I am!). Here’s how to protect yourself from cervical cancer:

1. Get A Pap Smear. You should start getting these at 21. The doctor takes a swab of cells and then checks them cell changes or abnormalities.

2. The HPV Test. This is actually done with the pap smear sample! It identifies women with high risk HPV infections that can cause cervical cancer. If you are over the age of 30, make sure you are asking for the digene HPV Test together with your Pap Smear.

If anything comes back abnormal, don’t freak! Many times your doctor will repeat the testing to make sure that nothing abnormal is going on. It’ll let your doctor know to keep a closer eye on you and your health.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the QIAGEN digene HPV test. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate

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I have found my new favorite place to shop online.  Why do you ask?  I just found the best deal ever on a Leapster 2 by using Shop.com.  Now, Leapster 2s on their own run around $79.99, so when I saw this one, I got super excited.  See, this one with a game is $79.99!  This gets even better too!  If you look closely at the Leapster, it is Star Wars!  Now, Madison is a Star Wars freak, so I can only imagine how excited she would be to see this under the Christmas tree from Santa!  I am excited, and this isn’t even for me.  Also, because it black, this can easily be passed down from Madison to Will.  I don’t have to worry about hearing that it’s a girl color!  (Yes, I am thinking that far ahead).

Now, Shop.com has over 2,000 stores, so you can definitely find something for everyone there.  You can type just about anything in the search engine on there, and it’ll pull it up.  You will see all the stores that carry that item plus how much each one wants for it.  I also love that purchases can be made using one universal “shopping cart” to buy everything at one time or by clicking over to participating merchants’ sites.  You can easily get all your Christmas shopping done at one site and know you are getting the best price!  I love that this takes some of the time and stress off me.  I love that I found her present, and I was just browsing through the toys! Shop.com also has expert advice, shopping tips, and articles.  My only complaint is that you can’t search through the toys by age (which is important when you have an 18 month old, since he still sticks everything in his mouth).

If you want a one stop shop for your Christmas shopping this year, Shop.com should be it.  See you there, because I am going to do some more shopping!

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