It has been more than 6 months since I’ve had anything to say. Actually I’ve had a LOT to say and just never let you guys know.

My youngest had a medical emergency in May. It was scary and we’ve done lots of time in the hospital. This was different. We didn’t really get any answers either.

Then school finished and I was home with all the kids. I hadn’t dealt with the feelings of watching my son leave the hospital on a medical helicopter. I was kind of a mess. Life felt really hard. I felt overwhelmed and unmotivated to do extra. I’m also not used to doing this with all 4 of them home. My kids are loud.

Part way through the summer we had some abnormal labs. I demanded we watch them closely. I was right. We had to make an ER trip to fix the issue. Then more monitoring. Changing our primary care doctor.

Then we were finally ready to get the kids ready for school. Can I just tell you I felt foolish? I had the supply list. But I also had 3 kids in that class. So 3 of everything. The teachers don’t realize that I get so much because it’s 3 times the normal. I love those teachers anyway. They love my kids so much.

My oldest is staying home with me this year. She is the typical middle child even as she is the second oldest of the entire crew. Adopted at 9 years old, she was our fourth child. She’s not one to enjoy one on one trips so this is a great thing for her. We explore the community and do things (new things and regular things).

So its been a busy 6 months. We’ve had some changes. We are settling in.

I made some major changes to our budget also. We desperately need a wheelchair lift for our van. It has been on the list for a while but some days feel impossible when we load up at school. In order to accomplish this, I:

-Refinanced our mortgage combining first and second. That lowered my payment.

-I applied for another second mortgage (a HELOC) in order to fund the van.

-I made an appointment to get the quote (that seems obvious)

-I made a plan for how I’m going to pay for the lift and how long it will take to pay off (I hate having payments.)

When we refinanced, I was able to switch our mortgage payment to biweekly. Rocket mortgage just gives you that option right out the gate. It is so much easier to pay that large of an expense in 2 parts when you get paid biweekly. The bonus is that you get to make 13 payments a year and THAT makes your mortgage balance decrease faster.

So you can see the last 6 months has been very busy. My mind has been going 100 miles an hour. I didn’t have the mental clarity to write here.

I have so many things to say. I’ll breakdown some of the subjects I’ve discussed here like advocating for a loved one in the healthcare field (especially when you are a healthcare worker), dealing with chronic illness in your house, managing a house when no one leaves (school breaks), significant changes in your routines, how to get back into a workout routine, and finally when you realize that the budget might be working but its not the best way.

And just because life is never boring. A couple of pigs showed up on my front porch over the summer. Have no clue where they came from or who they belonged to . Just hanging out with the fam.

I also have an announcement to make. I’ve found a way to make my coaching business even better. Visit my website if you are trying to organize your own chaos and find your dream life.