In Other Words...

When we first started together, Jimmy's English was not as good as it is now, and he would read English words exactly as they would be read in Spanish rather than remembering to follow the rules of English pronunciation.  (Hence the word 'nuts/'noots'.)  A lot of these words have stuck with us and our family even now that he has learned more and can read English much more proficiently.  

I do believe that my favorite of our 'Jimmy words' is the word 'budget'.

One of the things that Jimmy and I do together monthly along with the Family Meeting, is to plan our family's monthly budget.  Jimmy and I really do try to control our budget in any way that we can (hence the home-made haircuts and home-made yogurt).  We have both been blessed with good jobs, but in this D.C. area, it is hard to make enough money and still be able to spend the type and amount of time as a family as one would want, and it often seems that we are sacrificing income for family.  Because of this, Jimmy and I make a budget every month and spell out how and where our money will be spent at the beginning of the month and really try to stick to that plan for the month.  We believe that this is the best way to be the most responsible with our money. We also use it to teach our children the value of money and that everything we have is a gift from God and must be used wisely and according to His will and plan for our family and for  reaching out to the people and community around us.

If you look at this word, budget, from a Spanish point of view, you see the word 'bud' and the word 'get'.  Well, the 'd' in Spanish is softer than our 'd', more like a 't' and the 'g' is pronounced like an 'h' when followed by and 'e'.

So, you put that together, and you have the word

but-het

or

butt-head.

Purely accidental, and we do not generally allow the word 'butt' in our house (we have other more fun words for that like rear-end or fanny or pompis, nalgas or trasero...so many to chose from!), but in this case, there is no other word that really gets down to the bottom of the meaning of the word budget!

Every month, I sit here at my computer and Jimmy drags his chair over and we spend some time going over the butt-head.  For us, doing the budget is not often a fun thing.   It is usually designed around self-denial and sacrifice, which are really not my favorite words even though I know that in moderation, they are a very good thing.

And Elizabeth will be told that, no, we can't get that because it's not in the butt-head, or yes, we will work it into the butt-head for next month. 

I was reminded of this word because it is nearing the end of the month and we have turned in payroll hours so we know what income is coming so it's time to figure out how to spend it best. 

So, c'mon, Jimmy.....

It's time

to do

the

butt-head.

 (You only made what this month!?!?!  Let me see that!  ARGH!!!  This whole butt-head thing is such a pain in my tucus!)