It's here, it's here!

I am the first to admit I have a bit of a shopping obsession when it comes to the Monkey. I have always liked shopping, but oh my goodness, shopping for a baby or toddler is so much more fun!!

I have also found the joy of online shopping since I went on maternity leave, much to the detriment of my wallet. The only thing more exciting than finding something gorgeous is the wait for something other than a bill to arrive in the mail.

I do understand I have a slight problem and I am trying to kurb it. I have started to be successful in the last little while too.

But.........

The Monkey has suddenly decided that normal toys are now oh so 2009. She is no longer interested in any of the things she used to be interested in, and instead wants to play dress up, draw and hide.

So we are putting a lot of her old play stuff away but were thinking how much she would enjoy a tent of some kind to play in.

I searched and searched and searched, but could find nothing at the shops that didn't have bluddy Dora or Thomas on it.

So I turned to my ever faithful friend, the Internet......and found this:


So super cute! It wasn't the cheapest one out there (or most expensive by a long shot - $600 for a kid's play tent? I don't think so!!) but the HTC and I figured condiering this thing is going to be taking up a nice chunk of space in our living room it might be good to have something kinda cute to look at as well.

The only problem is, ours has just been delivered and it currently looks like this:


And the HTC wants to help put it together and of course he is at work now, and we are going out tonight (Monkey-less - WOHOOOOO!) and he is at Soundwave all day tomorrow so it looks like the Monkey's new toy is destined to stay in its box till Sunday.

Oh well, good things come to those who wait......apparently. I think she is going to love it!

How I love kitchen gadgets

Just looking around our house this morning I realised how much the HTC and I both love kitchenware. I guess our Christmas presents to each other reflect it best - I bought him a cast iron casserole dish and he bought me a food processor. The funny thing is, neither of us could have been happier!

My beautiful processor

The HTC also got a coffee pot for Christmas which has been wonderful, I forgot how much I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee filtering through the house, so much so we have a pot on now and I can't wait for it to be ready.

Mmmm coffee

We have also picked up a couple of things in the sales, the HTC got a salt pig and bought me a cute pale blue ceramic measuring jug which is just gorgeous, and I got myself a set of digital scales which were a bargain!

My scales. Still need to try them out though.

Now we just have to find a place to put it all!

A small splurge

Okay, time for a bit of honesty here. The HTC and I have spent a lot of our marriage spending at or beyond our means. While we were both working full time it didn't seem like such an issue, but just recently we realised we still had similar spending habits with me only working two days - you don't have to be a math genius (which I am most certainly not!!) to work out why that isn't the greatest!

So a couple of months ago I took over the money reigns so to speak and we have been trying really hard to budget, with some successful results. Realistically we can't afford to save much at the moment, but our goal is to try to live at least within our means, save any extra money that comes our way (tax etc which has been a tidy sum considering we didn't claim FTB or anything else till tax time) and therefore not get any further into debt. Next year I am going to be working three days, so our goals then are to clear our debt and start saving!!

But I must admit, it hasn't all been easy. One of my favourite things to do since having the Monkey is walk around the shopping centre looking at all the gorgeous stuff to buy. She loves gawking at everyone and everything around her, and there is something freeing about seeing only other mums and old people about the place, knowing everyone else is at work! The problem became that the temptation in these times was very strong, and I gave in much more than I should have.

But due to careful budgetting we have ended up with some spare cash, and the Monkey really does need a few things at the moment for the first time in ages. (One of the advantages of having the smallest child on the planet is she hardly grows out of anything! She is still in All In Ones rompers and Jeans from when she was 4/5 months old!! Craziness..but easier on the budget!) So the HTC had a chat and decided it would be good to grab a few things now.

So tomorrow the Monkey and I are off to the shops for a minature shopping spree. And I know I shouldn't be excited, but I am, and it feels even better knowing I can do it without guilt, because we finally have are getting our finances in order.