IT’S A BIG DAY, something we do in our marriage & numbing the hard stuff?!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO TALK ABOUT TODAY… It is Brooke’s 5th birthday!  We are going to be doing all of her favorite things and celebrating this amazing little girl all day long.   We started celebrating last night by her eating sprinkles off of her birthday cake and me singing happy pre-birthday to you.

EIGHT MONDAY MILES.  Each week during the second trimester keeps feeling better until it doesn’t right and then you just start feeling uncomfortable 24/7;)   I’m loving this stage, that is for sure!!!

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A dirty garage door shadow selfie… just what you have been requesting to see right:)

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During this run I listened to Oprah’s podcast (Super Soul Conversations) the entire time.. I listened to both the Glennon Doyle and Sheryl Sandberg conversations and they were SO interesting. Both women talked about learning to FEEL the hurt/pain/the suck/the emotions (Sheryl Sandberg suddenly lost her husband 2 years ago) rather than just trying to numb them.  Glennon Doyle talks a lot about the addictions she really struggled with for the first 25 years and she talked about how she used those addictions to numb herself and I could not agree more about addictions.  I truly think my eating problems in the past had so much to do with the fact that for me that obsessing over food/calories/weight was easier than feeling the hard things in life.  While I stopped with the food addiction problems a few years ago I am sure I turned to other things to help numb myself when things were hard… staying too busy (rushing around like a mad woman), scrolling etc.  It wasn’t until after my divorce (well, a few years after…) that I truly learned that the best thing I could do when things got hard was to ‘lean into the suck’ (a quote from Sheryl Sandberg) and FEEL things.  That’s when the growth happens, the healing, the gratitude… numbing things doesn’t allow those things to happen!  If you need some good cries while you are out running, Oprah’s podcasts are amazing.  I love the vulnerability, the honesty and the constant reminder that gratitude =s JOY.

If you are needing some running self-esteem boosts then just go ahead and reset all of the records on your garmin right now:)  I keep getting all of these new congrats from my watch telling me my fastest mile/5k/10k or longest run.  It’s funny how a little medal on the screen pumps me up.

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Just toasting our toast;)  Sometimes I write the jokes that I tell the kids when we do something.. I’m sorry but Brooke thought it was funny.

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One of Brooke’s friends gave her this scratch book and she is completely obsessed with it.  Andrew says that it hasn’t left her side since she opened it… he is right.  In case you need a gift idea or have a kid that would like this, they are really fun.

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My beautiful lunch:)  I am going to proudly say that we went through an entire Costco sized bag of spinach as of last night without any of it going bad.  We’ve been getting in a lot of spinach (and syrup…) over here.

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Brooke told me to come over and take a picture of her holding Beretta’s hand.  Beretta gets the most amount of snuggling from the kids:)

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Yesterday I  had my eyelashes/eyebrows done.  I don’t touch my eyebrows (as you can tell below)… I let my girl do it all because I hate plucking/putting on makeup/the whole thing ha.  I usually go in once every 4-5 weeks.  I had a reader ask a month or so ago how we budget the extra things like eyelashes/nails etc.

When Andrew and I first got married we went from making decisions with our own finances 100% on our own to then sharing decisions etc (like every marriage to some degree financially, we chose to share a bank account while I know that not sharing a bank account works for MANY people too)!  The tricky part when it comes to sharing decisions is trying to understand what is important to the other person when it comes to buying something.  I mean (I’m about to be sarcastic), I’m not sure why he doesn’t just understand why I think it is important to glue fake two inch eyelashes to my eyes each month ha but I don’t always understand mountain biking stuff either.  For us we found the perfect solution (via what one of my brother’s does each month with his wife:)… we budget (we are still huge fans of You Need A Budget app) in each month x amount of dollars and we each get that cash out at the start of the month.  I usually choose to spend it on eyelashes, nails and a new t-shirt/dress or something and he usually chooses to save up each month for something for mountain biking or something.  For us it works really great:) For everything else we make the decisions together but then choose personally what we want that month for our ‘extra fun thing.’  I actually spend way less money with this method compared to when I was single because I really think about what I want that month and keep track of it (and once the cash is gone… I’m done until the next month) which I didn’t do before.

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For dinner I made the spinach bowtie salad that I’m loving.  I skipped the chicken/pasta marinating part of the recipe and it was still amazing.

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A bit of relaxing before heading outside to get in a short walk.

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I might just be really out of the candy loop this year but who has tried these before? What a beautiful combination… I’m sure I’ll love them in 2018.

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PS this song… I LOVE THE BEAT, perfect for running.  I love Pink.

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I hope you have a great Tuesday and if you wish Brooke a happy birthday I’ll read your comment to her:)

For those of you that run while listening to podcasts… what was the last one that you listened to?

Last candy that you ate?  I’ll live through you for now!

What about you… with budgeting? Have anything that helps you?

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93 comments

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Happy 5th birthday to Brooke!!!

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I am 33, previously married (long time ago) and my hubby is 31, never married before.

We moved in together in 2015, and kept our finances separate for awhile. I gave him $x per month which I considered kind of like “rent” and he paid all of the house expenses since it was “his” house and I had sold mine (and kept the money).

Now that we are married (earlier this year), we do a yours, mine, ours approach because we were both pretty set in our financial ways coming into the relationship. We actually started our current system after we got engaged.

We have a joint account that all of our joint and house expenses are paid from, so all house expenses/bills, groceries, dog stuff, etc… We each contribute a portion of our pay cheque to that account every two weeks, and the remainder of our pays gets deposited into our personal accounts. We contribute to the joint account based on 60/40 because he earns 60% of our combined income and I earn 40%.

It seems complicated but it works for us, and we do have an overall “joint” mindset, we just keep our money separate. We don’t discuss minor purchases with each other usually, and we decide together on larger purchases and vacations and then we just split them from our “own money” based on the 60/40 I mentioned above. We are similar in that I am spending on things like pedicures, books, tea and treats (lol) and he is more into tools or truck supplies.

I love hearing about how other couples manage their finances :)

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Happy Birthday, Brooke! Janae, I’ve been following your blog for years and it’s wonderful to watch Brooke growing up – she’s adorable !

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Happy birthday to Brooke! Five is such a big-girl age! She’s going to have so much fun this year :)

Last podcast I listened to on a run was the Run, Selfie, Repeat podcast… This American Life is also a classic

My co-worker keeps an M&M dispenser on his desk for the office… it’s a problem

I use the Mint app for budgeting, but I really need to do a much better job of staying on top of it! Maybe YNAB is better? I’ll have to look into it.

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Happy Birthday, Brooke!!! 5 is a big year and I hope it is the best year yet! Btw, my youngest daughter, Peyton, was obsessed with your unicorn birthday cake. She is turning 6 in October.

Last candy I ate was Hot Tamales. They are probably my favorite next to Reeces Pieces. We use Dave Ramsey for budgeting. It has been extremely helpful for our family.

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HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BROOKE! I hope it is a wonderful and super special day for you!! (P.S. Can you please make me that sprinkles cake for my birthday?!)

I want to thank you again for introducing me to Bisquick pancakes. Currently, it’s pretty much the only thing I have an appetite for. I haven’t had a craving for much candy lately, but one day last week, I had gummy bears, which are my fave!! :)

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Happy Birthday to Brooke! I hope she has a great day and eats lots of cake :)

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I love the sounds of that budget app. I just write down every expense and keep it under a pre-determined weekly amount.

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I have tried those Reeses and they’re a bit overrated (sadly). Not necessary to have the pieces in the PB, just better to have the good ole original Reeses!

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It’s been a pleasure to watch Brooke grow up via your blog – Happy Birthday to her!

The last podcast I listened to while running was House of Carbs… before I realized listening to people talk about food while running is a kind of torture!

The last candy I ate was some sour patch fruit…SO GOOD. I’ve been challenging myself to have more self control with candy/sweets and it’s hard… but it’s getting better!

I used to use the Mint app, but I found it wasn’t working for me. I actually keep track of everything in an Excel spreadsheet now, and that helps. I also take out cash to use for groceries/household supplies (my biggest planned expenditure outside of bills) and I only spend what I take out. If I have some leftover, then that I can use for going out to eat, stuff like that. It definitely makes me think more about what I am spending my money on and why. I also save all my change and singles, and cash them in occasionally, and I try my best to funnel that money back into savings. It is not always easy, but it means I have a financial cushion for things that happen, like how I need to buy a new washer and dryer now.

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Good morning Janae! And Happy Birthday Brooke!! Eat as many sprinkles as you want ;)
I’m still looking for new podcasts to listen to while running/walking my dog…yesterday I listened to Reveal and I am going to check out Casefile. (I’m really into true crime :/)
Last candy I ate was skittles :)
As for budgeting…my husband and I found it really helpful to open two separate checking accounts (we still have a joint checking and savings) for “fun money” we can spend each month. The amount we take out of the joint account varies with what kind of expenses we have that month but so far this system has worked pretty well!

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Happy birthday, kid! 5 is a great age. May all your WILDEST dreams come true!

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Happy birthday, Brooke!! I hope you have a super fun day and get to eat more of that AMAZING cake your mom made!!

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Wishing you a wonderful birthday Brooke! Wow: already 5?! You are such a big, beautiful and bright girl!
My husband and I have been together for more than 15 years now. We met we were both students with not a penny in our pockets and it’s great to see what we’ve built together. We don’t always agree on necessities (I don’t get his sport car and he doesn’t get my need for a coach and sports gear haha) but we do know our priorities and we budget for the extras.

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Happy 5th Birthday Brooke! Today’s a really special day because it’s my birthday, too:-) August 15th rocks!! I actually remember my 5th birthday – I received Malibu Barbie as a gift and since I’m Irish and basically freckly & fair, I just could not understand the whole tan lines thing!! I hope your day is super-special Brooke…you are a gift to so many – your family adores you, as do so many readers around the world to whom your beautiful smile brings much happiness. Can’t wait to read about your next milestone…Kindergarten!!! Janae, thanks for sharing the info on the Oprah podcast. I’m in a bit of a running slump this week & this is motivating me to get out the door this morning. On a related note, I know you are super busy growing a baby and being a mom and a blogger and a wife and a friend and a sister and a daughter and all, but do you think you will, at some point, do online coaching? If so, sign me up!!! Have a great day and have fun celebrating your precious little girl. xoxo

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HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU JEANNIE!! I hope you are having the most beautiful day! I hope that the Oprah podcast was great for you this morning!!! I will keep you updated when I take on more clients! Once school starts and I get a better feel for our schedule I will know better:) THANKS and eat some cake today!

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I know I’ve told you several times but that cake is simply amazing. I am impressed.

Budgeting is tough but my husband and I are actually budgeting for a big new purchase soon. We’ve found that actually tracking is the most important. It sounds silly and obvious but realizing exactly what you’re spending money is important. We’ve also cut down eating out which saves a couple hundred dollars a month.

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I actually keep a spreadsheet of all my expenses. I’m trying to really good about my budget, but it’s hard. My husband and I tried to get out $100 cash per week for entertainment (including food and drinks). He’s good about getting cash out and I’m not. Mainly because it’s not easy to get to my bank and get out of cash. So, we lasted a week. But I want to try it again. If it’s not too much to ask, how much do you take out per month?

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Happy Birthday Brooke! Five is so big! My (big) little guy will be four in a week!

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I love your budgeting idea! Right now we are working towards buying a house so every time I think about buying something I think about that and I change my mind. My parents give us $100 each for our birthday and that’s the money I get to use to spend here and the for the most part. I found out last month that I had saved $90 from my last birthday ha! I don’t know how that happened. But I bought some new pants because my jeans were getting holes (they were at least 4 years old) . I usually spend it on running shoes or something like that.

Happy birthday to Brooke! Enjoy 5, it’s a really fun age. But slow down the growing for you mom a little ;)

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Happy Birthday BROOKERS!!! 5 is a BIG deal! Hope you loved your rainbow cake.

I’ll have to get that Oprah podcast with Sheryl Sandberg. I read her book recently (Option B) and was so blown away by how it affected me. I lost my hubby 18 years ago and really wish I had a book like that to read in the first few years. Although I do have to say I totally embraced the suck. I think that’s why I pushed through my grief better than I had anticipated. Life is always giving us curve balls right?

Oh the finances. I’m currently dating someone for 3+ years now and in another year or two we’ll probably buy a house together but i’m petrified of sharing finances. He’s divorced and has alimony and child support to pay. I’ve owned my own home for the last 17 years and I like knowing I’m always the one responsible for taking care of myself. We’ll probably each have our own accts and one joint one to put our share of the house expenses in.

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Happy birthday, Brooke! I swear you just had her! (Man, I’ve been reading your blog for a long time! Lol!) She’s such a cutie! I hope her day is amazing!!

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Happy birthday Brooke! I hope you have the best day ever!!

We used to have separate bank accounts but it caused SO much stress. Things are a million times easier now that we merged them together!

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Happy birthday Brooke! Your cake is awesome (and giant!)!! I hope you had a great day. What will being five bring for you? My little boy is five in a few months and he has been planning his party since approximately the day after his fourth birthday :)

That’s a great idea for budgeting the little treats. We have separate accounts and a joint one for household stuff so we get to make our own decisions on what we spend on ourselves. I like your idea if everything is pooled though. I got a new Garmin recently so I’m also enjoying getting the new record alerts :)

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Awesome post about leaning into the suck – that is so funny, I have been listening to Sheryl Sandberg talks all week!
Happy birthday to Brooke!

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Happy Birthday Brooke!! Your cake looks awesome – enjoy all those sprinkles!
I need a new podcast (love Lindsey Hein’s if anyone else is looking), so I’m going to creep on the comments to get suggestions.
I’m the budgeter in our marriage, and my husband basically just wants to know if we’re broke. We (I) do the same kind of thing you and Andrew do – budget a set amount for “extras” that gets taken out at the beginning of the month. Like you said, each person has different priorities and things they think are “worth it,” so this way we have a set amount for that kind of stuff and we don’t start to side-eye each other’s spending habits!

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Happy Birthday Brooke! Great job on her cake. I am sending 4/5 back to school today & I am ready. Have a great week.

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Happy Birthday to Brooke! 5 is the only age you can show with one whole hand!! My oldest will be 10 on 9/5 and she gets to use both hands!! Though I think she rolled her eyes at me when I mentioned that…
I have been listening to s-town and I like it. I have not really gotten into podcasts but I really like it that series.
As for budgeting. I have been married for 12 years and have always been in charge of the bill paying and finances, not my choice but my husband could care less about that part of our life. We have a financial planner and I feel confident that our college savings for both girls and retirement are doing well. I feel like budgeting is so very personal to your own relationship. We both talk to each other about big purchases but for small things we do trust each other. We are both frugal and usually buy things used if we can, especially cars. We are big on debt free (except for our mortgage). We have not had a car payment since our 1st year of marriage.

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Happy Birthday Brooke!!! This will be a great year for you ?
I would really like to start listening to podcasts during runs, so thanks for your recommendations! Any others that you like?
Have a great day!

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Happy birthday, Brooke! I hope you have a magical day with lots of sprinkles!

The last candy I ate was dark chocolate with raspberry and lavender. It was amazing and I have one small square left.

With budgeting there are certain things I know I’ll need. The rest is maybe more planning than budgeting: I tend to ask myself: is it worth it, do I need it, and how often will I use it.

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Happy birthday Brooke, I hope you have a great day!! That cake looks amazing! My daughter turned 15 on the second, and we have a tradition in our house for birthdays…we pull out the baby books!
The last candy that I ate was strawberry Nerds. I basically love anything from Wonka!!
My husband and I have been married 19 years and we’ve always done the joint account thing, it just seems to work for us. I’m a list person so I write down all of our monthly expenses and as far as extras, we just consult each other first.
Have a great day!

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Happy Birthday Brooke! I hope you have a great day. You share a birthday with my Mollie. She is 1 today!!

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Happy birthday to Brooke! I hope she has the most special day. :)

I am so impressed that you made it through an entire Costco bag of spinach without any of it going bad – I have gotten close, but never actually done it. Sometimes we end up freezing some of it to put in smoothies, and other times we throw a ton away and it makes me so sad.

My mom just started listening to that Oprah podcast, too, and seems to love it as much as you do! I’ll have to give it a try.

I use the Mint app for budgeting and although it works in theory, it’s really hard to stick to the budgets haha. I do better with making a manual excel sheet and tracking as I go.

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Happy birthday Brooke! Have a fantastic day :)
Right now I’m working on paying off my student loans and put a large portion of my paycheck towards them so they get paid off faster. I budget by really thinking about things I want and then need. While I do want to go get my nails done, I don’t just rush out to do it and wait until I have a good reason too. By keeping a little extra money in my account for emergencies or unexpected costs, I just try to focus on the important things (like paying off these dang loans!) and know I can have more freedom when they’re paid off.

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Happy happy birthday Brooke! I hope you have an amazing day today with your family. ?

Also my husband and I chose to join accounts when we got married as well. We tried to do it separately for a few months but it just got confusing for us. We try to budget as much as we can but we also don’t restrain ourselves with the small purchases. It’s he big purchases we really sit down, analyze, and save for.

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Thank you for recommending that podcast. I am not an Oprah fan, but I do like Sheryl Sandberg. Nine months ago my boyfriend died almost exactly the same way her husband did and her book “Option B” has been a lifeline. Any time I can connect with someone who has this unfortunate shared experience is a blessing for me. Looking forward to listening to this episode.

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We do the same exact thing with out budget! We call it our “allowance” and I agree–we spend much less money that way, while still getting the things each of us want!

Also, big happy birthday to Brooke! :)

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Happy Birthday, Brooke!!!!

Those resses cups are amazing! You should definitely try them when your tastes are back to normal. :)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!!!!

You’ve convinced me – I’ve got to listen to Oprah’s podcasts! That sounds amazing.

And so funny, the last candy I ate was Reese’s stuffed with pieces and it was AMAZING! It’s like a regular delicious Reese’s with extra candy crunch. Dangerously good :)

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Happy 5th Birthday Brooke! Your day, your rules. Enjoy every moment.

This is sort of related to budgeting……… I like to do a habit tracker. Since some of the things on there are “latte factors” it helps me see how often I am spending $$ on little things that can add up.

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Happy Birthday Brooke! I hope you eat all of the sprinkles and pat lots of dogs today!

The last candy I ate were some homemade date caramel cups! I used dark chocolate and just blended up some dates to put in the middle. They were delicious :)

The last podcast I listened to was your episode on Man Bun Run. Loved it, and now I think I’ll start listening to his other episodes as well!

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Happy birthday Brookie!

We love YNAB! It’s helped us pay off a ton of debt and plan for future purchases. We also give each other a little fun money each month, which is really a nice solution for us.

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Happy 5th birthday, Brooke!! I hope you have the best day and get to eat lots of that delicious rainbow cake!!

I’ve wanted to get my eyelashes done for some time, I think they look so amazing and I bet it saves so much time not having to do eye make up. Does it ruin your natural lashes at all? And can you wash your face etc without them getting damaged? I would constantly worry about ruining them haha!

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Thank you Jasmine! I LOVE not having to do eye makeup… I’m obsessed with it. I have had them for so many years now that I don’t know what my real lashes look like ha but my girl tells me that they fall off once the natural eyelash falls off. She glues them individually to each lash and I still have lots of lashes to glue them on to so I’m assuming I still have all of my natural ones:) As far as washing my face goes… I’m VERY careful to wash around them. I try hard not to get them wet (so I don’t have to get them done as often)! In the shower they get a little wet but not bad!!! I’m so used to it now though that I don’t even think about it when I wash my face. I hope you are having a great day and thanks for the birthday wishes!

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Happy birthday Brooke!! Your cake and party looked amazing and so much fun!! I just had my birthday on Sunday and August birthdays are the best in my opinion! Have a great day! ?

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My husband I and use the EveryDollar app for budgeting. We also allot ourselves a certain amount of “blow money” every month that is ours to spend without input. It’s good for us because we don’t fight over what the other person thinks might be a ridiculous purchase.

Happy birthday, Brooke!! I remember when you had her. Man, I’ve been reading a long time!

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Happy Birthday Brooke!!
I think I’ll order those scratch pads for my daughters birthday! Thanks for the idea!
The last podcast I listened to was Up and Vanished. Before that I listened to Serial and last night I just started True Crime Garage (which I don’t like as much).
I’ve had those Reece’s cups before but they weren’t as good as I imagined them to be. ? I had a Now & Later and a chewy Jolly Rancher last night, I’m into candy more than chocolate lately which is weird for me.

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Hey Brooke! Happy Birthday pretty girl!
I hope this new year of life makes you keep growing healthy, happy, and beautiful. Your hair looks incredibly pretty in those pictures. This is also going to be the year where you meet your little sister, are you excited? I always wished to have a little sister but God sent me two beautiful brothers instead (which I’m also grateful for). So always, always be grateful for the things you have:) Enjoy your day!

Ok, I need to try that bowtie salad asap. I’ve been reading about it for a while now on your blog and I’m really craving it now. Can you believe I can’t remember what the last candy I had? That needs to change soon.

I also like how you and Andrew budget together. All of the financial analyst I’ve heard trough podcasts, talk about how important is to do that when budgeting as a married couple. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day Janae:)

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Happy Happy Birthday Brooke!!! Wishing you the best of everything on your special day!!! I love the pic of you with Beretta :)

I usually listen to Podcasts when things are quiet at my office. I’ve tried to listen while running on the TM, but my mind wanders and I realize I haven’t been paying attention. I like the Rich Roll Podcast. He interviews so many interesting people. I’ve also been enjoying Man Bun Run…thanks for recommending! Oprah sounds really good too. I’m going to listen to hers next.

Last candy I had was Bark Thins Pretzel. It’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty. I used to get a bag of Reece’s Pieces before every track meet when I was in HS. I still love them!!

I’m really craving pancakes lately!! I haven’t given in yet. HA!

Hope y’all have a great day celebrating Brooke!!

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Happy Birthday Brooke! Your cake looked delicious! Five is such a fun age, I hope you have a great 5th year! My daughter is also named Brooke (but she is only 5 *months* old…a long way to go to 5 *years*!)

After getting divorced 4 years ago, and remarrying almost 2 years ago, my husband and I are still working out how to handle finances. It has been an evolution as our lives have progressed over the past couple of years. Neither of us is great at sticking to a budget :) We use the “Yours/Mine/Ours approach to dividing up our money, and it seems to work well for us (for now, anyway)! That way, we cover all our shared expenses but still have a bit leftover for ourselves to buy things like cute new clothes (for me) or studio production gadgets (for him).

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Happy 5th Birthday Brooke! I have a granddaughter that is also 5. I think you would really like her and would have fun together! She started kindergarten yesterday! If we lived closer, we could arrange a play date (we live in Nebraska)!
Have a fun day with your wonderful family!

As for budgeting, my husband I attended the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program, which totally changed our life and our way of thinking when it comes to money. We are on an all cash system (except for paying bills) and use envelopes to divide out the money each week. It works great – I highly recommend that all married couples attend a program .

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Happy Birthday Brooke!!

I am a HUGE fan of “This American Life” some of the episodes, I wouldn’t stop running / working out until I finished the episode, like “Three Miles” or “Switched at Birth” and “The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar.” So many good episodes / stories!

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Happy 5th Birthday, Brooke! I hope you have a really fun day!

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Brooke, HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY!!!! You are a ray of sunshine:) Thank you for sharing your light with all of us through the blog:) 5 is such a BIG birthday! Now your age takes up a whole hand, and you get to go to Kindergarten! I taught Kindergarten for several years before I had my boys. You are going to learn, make friends, and grow so much this year. Have a wonderful, fun day with your family:)

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My husband and I got married when we were both 29 and had our own separate financial stuff going on . At the time it was a huge hassle to combine things so he added me to his checking and savings accounts, all other accounts remained separate. Over time most of the accounts have been combined. No one has big expenditures without telling the other person or discussing with the other person. One thing I STILL have is my own account. Initially, my paycheck and all my insurance stuff went through that account and it was simpler than combining things, but when I stopped working to raise children, I really couldn’t give it up. I’ve had that account since I was twelve and started working outside of the home, so to me it was an independence issue. Again, I know this is weird but it was a struggle mentally for me from going to a wage earning contributor to a child rearing non wage earning contributor to our family. As I say, I had worked since I was 12 and maintained a job through college as well… so mentally, I needed that account even though I wasn’t putting anything into it.
How we budget now: Both my husband and I are EXTREMELY financially aware people. We have an annual budgeting meeting where we discuss the coming year and large expenses (a new deck, a new car, a vacation, that type of thing) and potential smaller expenses (lessons for kids, personal grooming–hair cuts, that type thing, hobbies, etc). Then we discuss our long term retirement goals and make sure our investments and our accounts are in order for those things. THEN we have quarterly budgeting meetings where we sit down and go over our mint account and check out our various spreadsheets to make sure we are on track. We do 40 % savings, 10% tithing, 50% other expenses . We’ve also been pretty fortunate with both our careers that did enable me to be able to stay at home full time with the kids and stop working. I know realistically a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck so what we are doing will not work. That is the joy of budgeting, there is no right way and different approaches work for different people. For example, I still have my account, a couple times a month my husband sends me money automatically from his account. I take care of a majority of the bills, utilities, medical expenses, everything for the kids, groceries, clothes. My husband takes care of the mortgage. While our stock portfolio is joint and decisions are made together, my husband manages it. The biggest thing that works for us is that we are both very similar in terms of how we spend money, which is to say, we are frugal. We’re both savers rather than spenders so money is not an issue for us. I know what he spends (even on hobby things like road biking which can get pricey, etc) he researched, agonized over, debated, and eventually decided it was a good idea. He knows the same about me.

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Happy Birthday Brooke! We lived in the Netherlands for a year, and Brooke would fit right in. They love Hagelslag (https://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2011/03/06/hagelslag/) and it’s right up her alley.
We did the joint account thing when we were married and it might be one reason why we are now divorced. Way different ideas of spending and saving can be a problem. I’m a saver and budgeter, he was a spender. He had no problem putting things on credit cards, I only use them if I can pay it off every month.
The last podcasts I listened to were Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, and Found on NPR.

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Happy birthday, Brooke!! I’ve been reading your mommy’s blog since before you were born and it’s been fun celebrating you each year. Hope your day is super duper fun!

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Happy Birthday Princess!! And that cake came out amazing!! Go MAMA!!!
Oh the B word!! I USE to HATE it! Then after I really understood the budget and how much we really save being on a budget I started to love it! My husband is an accountant, so he gets it! But we are on the same page and that is what makes it SO much easier! We budget and now we are seeing the results. . .we are currently building our forever home!!!! That is worth it to me!

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Happy birthday Brooke! 5 years old is such a big deal! What a fun age!
I love your fun money budgeting approach. What a good idea.

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Happy Birthday Brooke! You and my daughter who is turning 7(!) both have august birthdays! When I’m reading your mama’s blog, my little girl loves to see pictures of what you are up to. Have a great birthday!!

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Happy birthday Brooke! I hope you have a fun filled day!

My husband I have seem to be the most unconventional when it comes to accounts. We’ve been married almost 6yrs and we do not have a joint accounts. We keep our savings and checking separate. He’s in charge of paying for the mortgage and I take care of our daughter’s day to day needs, groceries, and bills. We both spend thriftily, save and invest as much as we can. When it comes to big purchases say appliance or trips we both put in for that. It seems to work for both of us.

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Happy birthday Brooke! You are special and deserve every bit of happiness! Go out and make it a great day:)
❤️ From Wisconsin

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Happy Birthday Brooke!! I really like your scratchbook and all of the photos of your drawings that your mama shares, you are a very good artist! Wishing you tons of fun on your special day! …jade

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Happy Happy Birthday, Brooke. I’m sending you a High 5 for your Big 5th birthday!

I love the way you and Andrew split up your fun money, thanks for sharing that. My husband and I are similar in that I tend to spend more frequently on smaller things (yoga, books, massages) and he doesn’t spend frequently but when he does he goes big (ahem mountain bikes…). That’s a good reminder to respect the other person’s idea of what’s important.

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Happy Happy # 5 Brooke!! You are beautiful and I am SO jealous of that birthday cake!! Great job Janae. Have THE.BEST Day!!

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Lash question for you! Does your lash person put on an extra strong glue? I had fake lashes last weekend for a wedding that came off the instant I washed my face. Trying to figure out how to go about getting something that would last longer. Is there something specific your person does?

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Hey Laura! YES YES YES, she does use super strong glue… they don’t usually start to fall out until about 3.5 weeks after she puts them on. I also don’t put any water on my eyelashes (I just wash around them but I’ve also swam with them before too)! If you are in Utah you should go to my girl!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE! I hope you have the most wonderful day

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I know you’re a fan of Gilmore Girls-have you listened to the Gilmore Guys? They watch each episode of the show and talk about it. They’re my favorite thing to listen to for runs longer than an hour! Happy 5th, Brooke!

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THAT SOUNDS AMAZING!! I need to listen to this asap! Thanks Eve!

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Happy 5th Birthday Brooke! I hope all your wishes come true :) and may God Bless you always.

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Happy 5th birthday! Did you like your special cake? I live in Tennessee or I’d be over there for a piece!
We have joint account and really had to create and stick to a budget after our second child. And since I’m a stay at home mom with 2 little boys I’m not working. It’s weird but I have a hard time spending money on myself when I’m not making any money. So what do you do if you wanted to make several purchases for yourself like Nordstrom anniversary sale?

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I left my last comment before I finished reading your post… which now that I think about it wasn’t the best decision. haha, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!! :) :)

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I have a confession, after drooling over all of your pancake pictures over the last couple of weeks, I finally decided enough was enough and I stocked up on some bisquick. It had been years since I’d last made pancakes (no clue why) and needless to say, I was TOTALLY missing out. I am curious though, which pancake receipe do you use? Is it one of the ones on the back of the box, or do you have your own favorite?

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THANK YOU GABBIE!! Yay for pancakes! Yep, I totally just use the recipe on the box:) SO GOOD! Enjoy!

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Happy “One Whole Hand” Birthday, Brooke! Five is a very big deal so I’m glad it looks like you got one heck of a fun birthday party!!

My husband and I joined bank accounts when we got married. Now we use a combination of Mint (which he manages to track our overall budget) and a Google spreadsheet (which I manage to track our cash flow and what’s going in/out). We touch base with each other once a month on where we are financially. It’s taken many painful years of learning how to budget correctly and get this system flowing for us. Not to mention we live in one of the most $$$ places in the world which makes the need to budget that much more important!

The last piece of candy I ate were fancy b/c they were a gift but you HAVE to try then when you get your sweet tooth back! Poco Dolce Chocolate and Sea Salt tiles. They are so incredible – truly amazing.

Enjoy this feel good stage of your pregnancy! You’re this far along and crushing my weekly number of miles!! You are my running hero. Thanks for keeping me motivated!

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Happy Birthday Brooke! Enjoy being 5:) it’s an amazing year, and it’s your last year to show people your age with the fingers on just ONE hand!
I loved the Missing Richard Simmons Podcast this past spring; I found it really compelling! I also enjoy This American Life on occasion.
I am actually not too much of a candy person; I do like M&M’s on my frozen yogurt, though!
I need to get better with budgeting… ugh, I just love to shop. But one thing that has helped me is setting up an automatic transfer from my checking to my savings on a weekly basis. When I first started teaching and I was living in new york city and paying for grad school… I literally could only spare $25 a week, but I was glad at the end of the school year to have saved my first $1000!! And I’ve been able to increase my savings so much since then. I try not to touch my savings at all, and have only dipped into it for really important investments so far:)

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Happy birthday hrooke$ I hope you have such a wonderful day & year!!! ??????❤️❤️

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Happy Birthday little Miss Brooke ! I hope you had a great birthday and had so much fun turning 5.
Last candy ate? A Rolo. I forget how good those are. Last podcast? You !! The one most recent one you told about the other day, with the guy, can’t remember his name. I’m so bad with names. I have a few more to listen to, then I can’t wait to start the Oprah ones. Oh budgeting, we probably don’t have the perfect way, it’s a hodge podge, but it works. We share an account, all bills and necessities are obviously priority. Then, we just simply don’t spend unless we truly want/need something. Anything over $100 we discuss with each other. It works.

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PS – LOVED the Pink song, thanks !!! Always need new ones.

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Happiest of birthdays Brooke all the way from New Zealand. ???

Last candy I ate was jet planes and Cadbury milk chocolate.

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Happy Birthday Brooke! I started reading your mom’s story right before your first birthday, which was 1 day after my daughter was born. Now she’s four, and you’re five! Five will be great! Kindergarten, becoming a big sister, and lots of running with Mom I’m sure. I hope you have an amazing day!! Love, Amanda

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HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY, BROOKE!!!! I hope it is filled with everything that makes you happy and giggly! 5 years old!!! Such a big girl!!! ?????

My husband and I are terrible with budgeting. Or should I say, we have the best of intentions but are terrible at sticking to our budget! I’m slightly better than he is, since I pay the bills I have to ensure I have enough. We keep separate accounts. It’s a necessity since I am a control freak — wanting to know that every penny is accounted for — and he just spends money on whatever he wants/needs.

I have a piece of candy almost every night after dinner. Tonight was a locally made caramel.

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Happy Birthday Brooke!!! I love your name, my daughter ‘s name is Brooke too!

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Happy Birthday Brooke from me and my little girl, Brooke too! We hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed lots and lots of sprinkles!

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Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday Brooke!!!!!

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Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Brooookkkkkkeeeee!
Happy birthday to you!
Cha! Cha! Cha! (As my kids like to add!)

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Happy birthday Brooke! Hope you had a super special day!

I love Glennon, If you haven’t read her books then please do, they are wonderful. I reread them every so often as they really just make sense.

Me and my husband do similar. We have a joint account and then separate accounts of our own that we put an ‘allowance’ in each month. It means no guilt on what we spend our money on and if i want to buy him a present i can without him guessing what it is by looking at the bank statement!

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Happy birthday beautiful Brookie! I hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed your colorful and yummy cake :)

I like listening to This American Life, I love the stories, but usually switch to music on the second half of my run to get me flying!

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Super happy birthday to super kid Brooke! I hope you enjoy everything about your day :)

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Happy Happy Birthday Brooke!!!! I hope you had a super fun day!
The last candy I ate was Peanut Butter M& M’S! Yum!
We are trying to find a new budgeting strategy as we have had some changes in the past 6 months. I will feel better once we find something that will work for us!

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Dear Brooke!

ALLES GUTE ZUM GEBURTSTAG!!!

sorry I’m late,….
I started reading your Mommy’s blog when you were maybe three months old. now you are five, you sweet little darling.
Seeing you at your mommy’s great blog always puts a smile on my face.

Liebe Grüße
Gabrielle

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What scratch book is that? I can’t seem to find the ones with the outline. Thanks!

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