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Post by beaglemom on Apr 7, 2017 20:40:32 GMT
No Planters nuts at Costco. We buy the Cabot's XSharp at Sam's, even store brand hunk cheese is better at Sam's than Costco to us. Our Costco carries Cabot. I go to Costco at least once a week. It has incredible organic produce and meats. My one year old eats three large containers of organic blueberries a week. And my other two eat a ton of produce too. Plus dh and I eat Paleo and I can get good quality organic meats, fruit, and veggies affordably. |
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Post by beaglemom on Apr 5, 2017 1:14:36 GMT
Hugs!! I have to say I'm so glad to see your post. I had just been thinking that I hadn't seen a post from you in a while and was wondering how you are doing. I'm sorry you are hurt! I haven't read the other thread, but I have followed your journey since you first posted about your sister. I think of you often and want you to know you are valued and there are people all over peadom that care about you and are rooting for you!
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Post by beaglemom on Apr 5, 2017 1:10:51 GMT
More can be seen here: link |
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Post by beaglemom on Apr 5, 2017 1:01:56 GMT
  Here are a couple shots of the dress that I made for my dd's 6 year photo shoot. Our photographer is amazing!! |
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Post by beaglemom on Apr 4, 2017 16:09:41 GMT
square.. you don't need the little reader.. you can just enter info on app. the reader should be free (at least they used to be). You should just be able to sign up on their website and then they will mail you one. If you need it ASAP I think Best buy has them for like $10. |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 30, 2017 17:30:26 GMT
That's what dh does too, I'm a sahm so none from me. Been his regular 401k, employer matching, and Roth 401k he does the $53,000 a year. I think it went up to $54,000 for 2017. Wow, he must have a very generous employer match. The most he can contribute himself is 18k, or 24k if he is 50+. The rest must be in match. And 401k and Roth 401k are both subject to the same limit, you can't contribute to both to exceed the maximum. Good for you guys, 50k+ going into retirement every year and being able to have a single income household. Maybe I'm reading wrong, but on the irs website it says: "Compensation limit for contributions Remember that annual contributions to all of your accounts - this includes elective deferrals, employee contributions, employer matching and discretionary contributions and allocations of forfeitures to your accounts - may not exceed the lesser of 100% of your compensation or $54,000 for 2017 ($53,000 for 2016). In addition, the amount of your compensation that can be taken into account when determining employer and employee contributions is limited. The compensation limitation is $270,000 in 2017 ($265,000 in 2016)." I know his company matches very well. And we usually max out by June at the latest. I also know the take home in January is significantly smaller than December! |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 30, 2017 4:16:50 GMT
If you own a home in the Bay Area. and can imagine ever moving back KEEP your house!!! we did when we were expats.. once you sell, it could be impossible to ever buy again.. and by keeping your house, you keep the property tax basis.. and you don't want that to rise. it would not prevent you from moving wherever.. but having that house to go back to is a big relief. prices are only going up here.. even if we move in retirement, we plan to keep the house, as our kids can inherit the house and the tax basis. If we weren't going overseas we were going to sell and move somewhere else in the bay area. Both sets of parents have houses that fall under prop 13, so if all else fails we can buy one of their homes (los altos or Woodside) and pay even lower property taxes. We bought as the market was crashing in 2007 and think that we can get almost double what we paid. We also owe about 10% of what it's worth. So in theory we should be able to make good money on that if we invest it while we're gone. But we plan to meet with our financial planner to go over things before deciding. |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 30, 2017 4:07:05 GMT
We max his out plus other monthly savings. I don't work so I don't have one. Girl, you need to take that excess out of other monthly savings and take advantage of the tax benefits. You need an account, too. We looked at doing it for me. The most you can do as a non working spouse is $5,500 a year and for us it didn't make sense taxes wise. |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 30, 2017 3:59:15 GMT
We do the maximum allowed plus employee match That's what dh does too, I'm a sahm so none from me. Been his regular 401k, employer matching, and Roth 401k he does the $53,000 a year. I think it went up to $54,000 for 2017. |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 29, 2017 3:29:34 GMT
I lived in London for 10 years, I'm an American...I'm happy to answer any questions. We lived in a suburb... in a London Borough. We had one car but used public transport most of the time. If you want an American school there are a couple. I believe they are all pricey. The British school system is very different. If it was me I would put my kids in local schools.. (you do not have to go to your closest neighborhood school, you have choices in your local school district) I think it is a great learning experience. Would your move be more or less permanent or just for a couple of years?As of right now the plan is for one or two years, but we are thinking about selling our house to give us flexibility. Our plan is to take as little as possible, but I would love to know what you would recommend bringing. I love to cook...how much of my kitchen stuff should I bring - or does it just make sense to buy stuff there? We are thinking of getting Ikea stuff or renting something furnished there. I was just going to bring current sizes of the kids clothes and then buy stuff there as they grow out of stuff. I'm not tied to american schools, british schools are fine by me. I was talking to my daughter about it and she had a friend that did it last year and her big question was if she would get to wear the adorable uniforms like her friend. Dh is going to talk to work in the next week and now we are thinking about trying to go in the fall rather than waiting another year. I'm excited because I think we are going to purge most of our stuff. There are only a couple pieces of furniture that we are tied to and then my fabric, our books, board games, and a little of the kids stuff. But other than that it is all going to go! So excited!!! |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 23, 2017 17:49:04 GMT
My favorite and most used is my mac. But we have an HP pc touchscreen in the kitchen - I use it for occasional facebook/email checking, recipes, and to watch Netflix on. I have a PC in the office, but i can't tell you the last time i turned that on.
I am currently on my brand new Mac book pro. It is bittersweet, my beloved 17 inch Mac Book pro died 2 weeks ago and we finally broke down and ordered me a new one. I really wanted to salvage the old one, since they no longer make the 17 inch. But it was going to cost +$300 to replace the video card and apple said they would be considering it obsolete in less than a year and they were very surprised nothing else had failed yet. It is 5+ years old, so I feel like I got my money out of it.
I have always been an apple girl. That is what we always had at home growing up. I love them so much! And i am so sad that apple is no longer making stand alone monitors. They are selling LG 4K ones instead, just not the same!
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 21, 2017 16:53:26 GMT
I voted for what we spend on average in a year. We fly or drive to CO from CA at least 4 times a year - dh, me, dd (6), ds(4), ds (1). So plane tickets for 4 or hotel for 4. Season pass for skiing for dh and dd. Ski lessons for dd and ds. Then we do at least a week in Yosemite at a hotel. Every other year we go to Cabo for 2-3 weeks. We have Disneyland season passes - which is at least $2,500 on their own. Add in the hotels, food, stuff 4-5 times a year.
Hmm maybe I didn't say enough...
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 21, 2017 4:27:24 GMT
This has made me so much more excited!! Thank you so much everyone for all the replies!!
I'm not tied to being in central London, I want dh to have a doable commute and I would love to have a little more space. Thankfully (or not) we are in the bay area, so we are "accustomed" to crazy housing prices - houses in our neighborhood rent for $8-12,000 a month. We are deciding between renting out our house or selling it and then buying something else when we come back. The plan at the moment is to go for 1-2 years and then decide from there.
I sew mainly for my dd, a little for my boys. I can bring some fabric with me, I plan to get over to Paris to shop the fabric stores there! But the machine situation was my main concern. My dream is to buy a ton of fabric in the south of france before we move back home and enjoy that when we get back stateside.
Thank you for all of the links I will be bookmarking and reading up!!
With all the craziness in the states our original plan was to move Sept 2018, now we are debating doing it this September instead. We are also thinking about baby #4, which plays into do we have the baby here and then go there or have the baby there. Dh's company has awesome paternity and part of me wants to do the baby there so we get those extra 12 weeks (he has a full year to use those weeks) to explore Europe (we have traveled lots with the others when they were little too so we do know what we are getting ourselves into).
As things progress I am sure I will have more questions. Thank you so much UK (and expat) peas!!
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 20, 2017 23:46:14 GMT
Oh my goodness!!! I never got notifications on the post so I thought no one had responded!! Thank you for tagging me....off to read all the responses!! |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 20, 2017 23:14:02 GMT
There's a nice steak house in the Disneyland hotel that my sister likes. Steakhouse 55 is fabulous! I totally forgot about it. We have only been once, but the food was really good! |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 20, 2017 19:27:25 GMT
We are annual pass holders and we've been to Blue Bayou twice. Our first trip and then when we took my parents because my dad remembered it and wanted to go. Totally underwhelmed by the food. Ambiance is great, but the food isn't very good, especially for the price.
Our favorite is Carthay Circle over at California Adventure. Fantastic food, very classy, amazing cocktails (no alcohol in Disneyland, but there is alcohol in California adventure), and great service. We go at least once every time we go. Pricey, but worth every penny.
We haven't been, but I have heard amazing things about the Napa Rose at the Grand Californian hotel. I believe it's adult only (hence not getting a chance to go).
We also like Catal and Ralph Brennan Jazz Kitchen in downtown Disney. We've done breakfast and dinner at Coastal, both were fantastic!
I haven't done the Disneyworld races, but we've done star wars and Avengers at Disneyland and it is insane. Super crowded!! If you can, go to the expo as early as possible. They have some awesome Disney official race stuff in the expo and at star wars this year we didn't get to go because there were literally hundreds of people in line to get into the tent. And they sold out of what I really wanted (the star wars running shoe ornament) The first day of the expo, so go Thursday!. The wait to shop was over an hour, we have three little kids and there was nothing we needed that badly. The week days shouldn't be too bad, but be prepared for craziness on the weekend. You will definitely need to make dining reservations asap!!!
Please ask any other questions!! We love doing the races!
We usually go for 3-5 days at a time when we go, home is northern California. I always book at least one sit down meal a day in advance, you can make reservations over the phone or online 60 days in advance. The last couple times we've gone they've been so busy that if you haven't made a reservation you can't get a table at any of the sit down restaurants.
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 18, 2017 5:57:36 GMT
We are considering a move to London (from the SF/Bay Area) in the next year or two. DH's company has an office in london that is working on some stuff that he is really passionate about and we have always wanted to live abroad. The plan as of right now is to go for a year or two and then come back to the states.
We currently have a 6 yr old dd, 4 yr old ds, and 1 year old ds. We are planning to have one more in the next year or so.
I know london can be pricey and that we will end up in a space much, much smaller than what we are currently in. But we are starting to try to get things lined up and I was wondering if people have suggestions on areas we should be looking at. Looking at a map it looks like the office is near a bunch of theaters/SOHO and the British Museum. We aren't opposed to a commute, but would prefer something reasonable. Dh is also happy to ride a bike into work.
If we are in London, would we need a car? Or can we get by with public transportation?
How are the schools? Is public school something that is doable or do we need to look at private? Are preschools common?
I sew - I know getting American fabrics in the UK is difficult and expensive. My biggest concern is sewing machines. Does it make sense to bring mine and get adaptors? Or should I buy something there that will work while we are there and then sell it when we leave?
Is it really as easy as it seems to travel the rest of Europe once we are in the UK. The last time we were there it was so easy to hop a train over and travel away. While living there our hope/plan is to do lots of travel all over the rest of Europe. I know there are some changes coming with Brexit but we are really hoping that we can do a lot while there.
I would love any and all advice and perspectives on such a move! We are super excited about this and my fingers are crossed that it will work!
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 16, 2017 23:10:00 GMT
We got married in 2005. My guess is we spent between $45-50,000. We had a hundred people at the Awhanne hotel in Yosemite. That amount also includes the rehearsal dinner which was for 75 people. I think we paid around 3,000 just for the photographer. The videographer was another 800 to 1000.
And then probably $20,000ish on our honeymoon. We went to Europe for two months.
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 13, 2017 5:24:00 GMT
Awahnee hotel in Yosemite! We had 100 people and it was awesome.
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 10, 2017 6:01:07 GMT
yup...bulldozable or super tiny in the low millions...up to 39.5 million. Move in ready and not needing any work ... 3-4 million. What the freak? Are you in Vancouver? Erin Nope silicon valley. But our town is definitely on the high end of housing prices! |
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Post by beaglemom on Mar 10, 2017 1:06:15 GMT
yup...bulldozable or super tiny in the low millions...up to 39.5 million. Move in ready and not needing any work ... 3-4 million.
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 26, 2017 6:10:16 GMT
I'm pretty sure Target's organic nut butters are okay. But I would double check. It's not something I've found I missed. I know a couple people that were shocked to find out that they reacted really poorly to legumes. I think every one should do it at least once. For me I need to do it any time my "sugar dragon " gets out of control. Or really I just need to eat this was 95% off the time.
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 26, 2017 6:02:13 GMT
Awesome beaglemom ! I'm getting excited! I'm not officially starting yet because I know I have a few unpredictable days coming up and I don't want to set meself up for failure. But I am making changes already. I love dippy eggs (don't do a search for whole30'and runny eggs - it pulls up stuff about runny noses on whole 30! Yuck!). But what to eat it with if not toast? I had the idea this morning to just eat them with a cubed roasted potato. It worked fine. I love poached eggs!! I roast sweet potatoes multiple times a week. In the morning I reheat them with greens (kale and/ or spinach) and a meat. And then I usually add some avocado. I love the runny eggs mixed in. Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before in salad form. I am loving flavored Olive oils with balsamic for salad dressing. Citrus flavors are my favorite -lemon, lime, blood orange. |
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 25, 2017 6:07:37 GMT
Whole 30 it's totally worth doing!! I highly recommend signing up for the daily emails on their website. I think it's $15, but you can go back any time to one of the old emails and click the start over and start getting them sent again. I'm on my 4th, did my first August 2014. The emails are really nice because they give you ideas of what to expect physically and mentally through out. The stomach issues noted above are totally normal and get better.... It's usually your body just going through detox. I was a huge milk drinker (couple glasses a day) and cheese eater. I have had maybe 5 glasses of milk since my first Whole30, and I think at least three were when I was pregnant and trying to kill heart burn. I'm also much pickier about what cheese I'll eat now. I think the most eye opening is that there is sugar in Everything!!! It does take a lot of label reading and cooking from scratch, but I firmly believe it is wonderful as a reset and if you do the reintroduction phase correctly it really helps you to see what your body reacts poorly to. And I sleep a million times better when I'm on it!!! Much quicker to fall asleep, I stay asleep better and if the baby wakes me up I go back to sleep right away after feeding him. I can't say enough! My Whole30 /paleo Pinterest board most things can be adapted to Whole30 if they aren't already. |
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 18, 2017 5:02:12 GMT
My kids are so excited! My dd is almost 6 and has a bunch of the AG dolls. Ds is 4 and was so excited when I told him, he ran over to his sister and asked if he could play with her if he got one. I can't wait to get it for him and make some more clothes for it!
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 16, 2017 18:20:55 GMT
He just spews lies and lies and lies. How does anyone believe the crap coming out of his mouth?
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Post by beaglemom on Feb 14, 2017 23:28:20 GMT
I loved pedis while pregnant. Most places now are well ventilated and its not too much of an issue. I had a sensitive stomach (lots of sickness) during all three pregnancies and I didn't have any issues getting my toes done!
Also if you can find a place that specializes in pre-natal massages. They are amazing!
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Post by beaglemom on Jan 31, 2017 0:44:48 GMT
My everyday car is a Tesla Model X. We also have a Suburban for hauling stuff around. Dh drives a Tesla Model S.
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Post by beaglemom on Jan 26, 2017 6:47:39 GMT
For my oldest when we had her full time for pre-k (8-6, m-f) it was $2,500 a month. I'm home now. My middle is in preschool and I think we pay around $6,000 for the year, that's just school year schedule, m/w/f, 8:30-12. I'm in the bay area. I was a teacher before kids (my take home was $3,000 tops a month), once I got pregnant with our second it didn't make financial sense for me to continue teaching. Plus I enjoy being home with the kids. I should also say that it got cheaper as she got older, but we only had her full time that last year. |
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Post by beaglemom on Jan 26, 2017 6:46:38 GMT
For my oldest when we had her full time for pre-k (8-6, m-f) it was $2,500 a month. I'm home now. My middle is in preschool and I think we pay around $6,000 for the year, that's just school year schedule, m/w/f, 8:30-12. I'm in the bay area. I was a teacher before kids (my take home was $3,000 tops a month), once I got pregnant with our second it didn't make financial sense for me to continue teaching. Plus I enjoy being home with the kids.
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