7 Quick Takes Friday-Thrifty Pants

1. Fort Benning Yard Sales Facebook group rocks my socks. I've been able to get rid of some stuff that's been bogging us down during the last couple of moves, and make some extra cash. Go on. Admit it. You're just blown over by my resourcefulness. (I didn't even know "resourcefulness" was a word. At any rate, I didn't get an angry red squiggly line underneath it, so I'll assume I'm golden).

2. Will's injury is severe enough that he has to be recycled out of his current BOLC class, meaning he has to rest up, recovery, and start the whole class all over again once he's back to his normal self. It's a bummer (essentially, it means we won't be going to Fort Carson at the end of September as planned), but it's better than Will risking a permanent injury by doing too much too soon.

3. Holy Week is almost upon us, and I have to say...I'm really disappointed in myself. I've broken my Lenten promise on more than one occasion, and I just really feel like my prayer life is lacking. I'm not 100% sure how to get back in the game, so to speak. It's been a rough couple of months, and I haven't handled all of these massive changes as well as I could have.

4. Sunday was Alessandra's first birthday (!!!!), and we had a quiet family celebration. I had a cupcake store in town make a smash cake for her, and she was all over that bad boy once she got a taste of the frosting. Tony was excited to be able to sing "Happy Birthday" to his baby sister, although he became quite agitated when we informed him that Alessandra's presents were not, in fact, for him.

The cake.

The birthday girl.

The smash.

5. During bath time the other night, I was taking care of Alessandra after getting Tony out of the tub and drying him off. He disappeared for a few minutes, and the house became suspiciously quiet. When I went to go investigate, I found that the little goof had helped himself to one of my essential oils. Specifically, fennel. So my house-and my child-had the overpowering scent of black licorice for the rest of the evening. Good times. 

6. In other thrifty/financial awesomeness...my student loan has been paid off. We also saved up some extra money to pay off Will's loan, which is due in August. After that, we only have our car loan left, which I plan on attacking with a vengeance. Then we will be debt. free. It doesn't even seem real.

7. I just realized, while typing Quick Take #4, that not only did we celebrate Alessandra's first birthday...but I was able to celebrate one year of nursing (and we're still going strong!). I know it may not seem like much for seasoned mothers who have spent years upon years nursing their children, but when Tony was 9 months old I had to stop nursing him for a few weeks. I had to have emergency surgery (thank you, gallbladder), and I was on such heavy medication it wasn't safe to breastfeed. Will had to give Tony formula during that time-which did NOT go over well-and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to re-establish breastfeeding again. Fortunately, we were, but Tony weaned himself right before his first birthday. I'm glad Little Miss isn't showing any signs of stopping, because to be perfectly honest...I'm not ready to stop, either. Even though I don't relish the middle of the night feedings, I always look forward to the quiet, peaceful nursing sessions with my baby girl. 

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!