Category: thoughts

where do you live?

photo credit

Where do you live, and do you like it? Sometimes during the long, hot summers of Houston I get to daydreaming about a milder climate. I even decided to take a quiz to tell me what my ideal U.S. city would be. It gave me the top 24, but the first five were:

1. Tulsa, OK

2. Greenville, SC

3. Clarksville, TN

4. St. George, UT

5. Hampton, VA

I didn’t know much about any of these cities, so I took some time to read about them and I decided Greenville, SC is my favorite! If I could just up and relocate though, I’d have to visit and really feel the “vibe” before deciding.

As it is, for the most part I do love living near Houston. I actually live in a suburb, and I like the conveniences of a nearby large city (top medical center, lots of culture, shopping options, restaurants) but there is more space, better schools, and it’s affordable. And although it’s super hot in the summer, we have awesome springs and falls, and our winter is very mild. I can handle hot better than cold. We also have a really low cost of living here!

The number one reason we are probably in Houston to stay, though, is that both of our families (including all siblings) live here. We are all pretty close and now that kids are involved it’s become even more important to us to be very involved in each others’ lives.

What about you? Where do you live, and do you like it? If you take the quiz, what are your results?

June 19, 2014
the “perfect” photo

In Texas in spring the wildflowers pop up everywhere and people rush out to the sides of the highway to sit in the bluebonnets and take pictures. It’s a thing. Some people get awesome professional photos taken in them, but here am I with my cranky toddler, bobblehead infant, and my iPhone camera trying to force the perfect bluebonnet photo.

I had just interrupted Meredith’s late-to-being-with nap for these. Told her to hold Liam in her lap so hold him she did.

It was windy.

In attempting to get artistic I didn’t even notice my finger over the lens.

They got tired and wanted to lie down. (Also, we didn’t smoosh the bluebonnets, they were already like that.)

So then I gave the camera to my mom and reluctantly jumped in there. Meredith decided to start being silly, poking her eyes. Lovely shot of the freeway in the background, too.

Poking his eyes.

And a kiss.

Hey, here’s a decent-ish one. But what I really wanted was more photos of just the kids, so I bribed Meredith with ice cream to sit with Liam in her lap one more time.

She is struggling under all of his massive weight, so I laid him down on her lap and she was happier.

Yeah, this is the best we could do.

I don’t really care that we didn’t get a great bluebonnet photo, because these tell the story of what that afternoon was really like. It was still a great memory. :)

April 15, 2014
transitioning

We are a family of four now. We’re home and settling in and everything is a bit surreal.

David…is home this week with me until Friday, which will be my first day alone. I know he is struggling internally with a lot of anxiety about having two kids, but he is also incredibly proud and excited. When we first got home it was so cute to see him immediately call the dogs over to show off the baby. He’s also been trying to convince any of his friends (including my brother!) who are trying to decide whether or not to have kids that it is worth it. In addition, he and Meredith have already become way closer. During her inevitable breakdowns, he is able to hold her while she cries and talk to her and soothe her so that she is happy again. She also asks for him a lot more frequently now. It’s so special to see their relationship develop.

Meredith…is doing pretty well, all things considered. While we were in the hospital she switched off between both sets of grandparents and behaved wonderfully. Whenever she came to visit us she was also nearly perfect. She loves her baby brother and asks to hold him frequently. She will put her face really close to his and say, “hi!” and then turn to me, smiling, and say, “I say hi!” Then she’ll give him kisses and tell me, “I kiss him!” It’s all so exciting to her. Most of the time she wants him around and will ask for him to read books with her and such. We are all sleeping in the same bed right now, and although a little crowded it’s fine. She’s also still nursing and it hasn’t been a problem since I just make sure to nurse Liam first. So all in all I know she’ll be a good big sister and things will be okay.

But…there have been challenges with her. In the mornings she is a ball of energy. In the past I’ve taken her to school on my way to work, which is early enough that she was still sleepy. But now we don’t get her there until 8 0r 9 so she is kind of hyper and ends up throwing tantrums about what to wear, what to bring, not wanting to leave, etc. And since I’m still having quite a bit of incisional pain (repeat C-section…ugh) and David is not a morning person, it’s pretty rough. Then when she comes home in the afternoons she is incredibly needy and fussy and cries a LOT. I know this is where her jealousy and interruption to routine is being let out. So far we have been able to get her to calm down, but it takes a ton of effort and patience. There are times that I feel like I’ve ruined our family, but then when I see her being sweet with baby brother I know that soon she won’t be able to remember life without him and they will both be better people because they have each other.

Liam…is awesome. So far he has a very calm and quiet temperament. He sleeps a lot and isn’t demanding. I am more and more excited about the novelty of him being a boy. I love the little boy clothes and I’m excited about keeping his hair short, and just all the boy things that are different. At night he sleeps pretty well in bed with me, although there is a 2-3 hour period a little after midnight that he likes to be awake which is not a big deal right now. I had to put some effort into teaching him how to latch correctly for breastfeeding, and he is still not super into it, but hopefully he is getting enough to eat. While in the hospital he had some jaundice and had to be under the phototherapy lights for a day and a night (horrible experience!) so we went to the pediatrician to follow up already today. He is only two ounces away from his birth weight and was looking good. We are waiting to hear back about his bilirubin results but once that’s taken care of we are in the clear.

As for me…I am overall pretty happy. I have the normal postpartum emotions and I do go from feeling extremely excited and content to overwhelmed and sad and regretful fairly quickly at times. Medically I’m still dealing with some elevated blood pressure (I was starting to have some preeclampsia before I went into labor) and if it doesn’t go down soon I’ll probably have to be treated for it. My incision seems to be healing normally and the pain is under control. I’ve been able to be up and around the house pretty well, got myself cleaned up and thoroughly groomed, even did a few chores, but I’m trying to take it easy. I have a lot that I want to accomplish on maternity leave (I’ll share exactly what in another post) but right now I’m sticking to lazing on the couch, watching TV, reading, and stitching. Loving it.

Thank you…to everyone who has commented, emailed, texted, or otherwise contacted me. It has been so fun to celebrate with our friends and family near and far. I am sure that you will probably see many more cries for help or advice in the future, most likely on Twitter, and I appreciate anyone who chimes in. Special thanks to all of our friends and family who have visited and helped out at home (especially the grandparents!) and to our church friends who are bringing us meals. I don’t know how we would make it through this transition on our own!

January 22, 2014
how we are making our money matter
It’s the end of the year, which means Christmas shopping and budgeting for next year. For us, it also means that pretty soon we are going to be adding another child to our household and all the costs (*cough* daycare *cough*) that go with it. I have been thinking about money and finances a lot lately: how to save it, where to spend it, and how to make it matter. It’s a never-ending battle.

We’ve been working on paring down our spending for awhile in anticipation of a drastic increase in expenses. Here are some things we’re doing to save:
- Took a look at all of our recurring bills. Canceled or cut back on the non-necessary expenses (cable, subscriptions).
- Changed phone plans to one that fits our lifestyle better.
- Trying our best to be more energy-efficient with the thermostat and electric usage.
- Set up separate savings accounts for annual expenses (like our HOA dues and Christmas shopping) that we pay into monthly so that we’re not hit with that all at once.
- We hardly ever eat out, take advantage of lots of meals with family, and eat what we have in the house till we’re desperate (I’m still working on the whole cooking thing though…)
- No “for fun” shopping, no trips to Target just to get out of the house, and I unsubscribed from all shopping emails and newsletters.
- Begging for and borrowing hand-me-down toddler/baby clothes and supplies.
- Set up a “change” jar. It might not seem like much but spare change can add up to pay for little splurges at the least!
Another thing we’ve done is switch from our traditional bank to a local credit union. I was seriously going over our expenses with a fine-toothed comb, and I noticed that suddenly we were being charged a $10 monthly fee to have our checking account open. When we opened it we got a great deal with no fees and a high interest rate, but slowly all the benefits decreased until they were gone. After doing some research I realized that a credit union was the way to go! Here’s why:
- They are non-profit! The members are the owners, so all money going in comes back to the members in the form of dividends, rebates, lower interest rates, etc.
- They are part of the local community so putting your money there helps improve the local economy and infrastructure.
- They have all the same services of big banks but with no fees and better rates.
- No worry about convenience because most credit unions are part of a shared branching and ATM network.
We seriously love our credit union and I’m actually mad we didn’t switch earlier!

***

This post is sponsored by Make Your Money Matter, in association with PSCU, though all views expressed are my own.
December 13, 2013
all the things

1. So yesterday David and I were having a really blah day so in order to salvage it we decided to go for a family shopping trip. We don’t usually do hardly anything on weeknights because it’s just too much but it was needed. We went to Target, of course, got a Starbucks and popcorn in the store, let Meredith ride in the back of the cart, and just browsed.

2. One of the things we bought was a new backpack for Meredith. The picture above shows her old backpack, which I love, and she loves, and she always runs to it when I pick her up, and it’s a cute little pink mouse, and oh the nostalgia of being me as a mom, because it was very, very hard for me to get a new backpack even though the old one is all beat up and torn and the zipper was coming off.

3. We also ordered her these shoes because they were out of stock in her size, and apparently they’re the most popular kid shoe ever, or something.

4. Then I dragged David into Ulta and as soon as we got in he told me he didn’t know how long he’d last, and I browsed their selection of natural facial moisturizers because mine is out and I didn’t find one at Target, but all theirs were either way too expensive or not natural enough, and why is it so hard to find the perfect product I ask you?

5. We were letting ourselves shop because David won a small amount of money on a scratch-off lottery ticket (shut up they are fun ok). Also I realized I had a Visa gift card from my birthday I hadn’t spent so I ordered this cross stitch kit and now I’m contemplating how to spend the rest, on something fun like stamps or boring but necessary to complete my projects like picture frames.

6. One reason yesterday started off so blah for me is that I was listening to The Fault In Our Stars on my drive to work and despite there being a lot of really funny and uplifting parts to it, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s about kids with cancer and I hit the point yesterday that was really freaking sad and I was just hopelessly crying and trying not to ruin my mascara, and then I had to come and face more cancer all day. I knew I shouldn’t have read this book.

7. So even though I’m on the last disc of that book I decided to listen to the Joy the Baker podcast this morning instead and I was much happier and had a better day.

8. I didn’t think I’d love Joy the Baker’s podcast as much as everyone else because she’s primarily a food blogger and I’m not a foodie by any means and I don’t cook or bake for fun and I didn’t want to listen to a podcast about baking but turns out it’s about regular stuff! And it’s awesome!

9. So now I follow the blogs of Joy the Baker & Tracy from Shutterbean even though they’re mostly food blogs because I like them and sometimes they write about other stuff. Also they don’t make me cry.

10. Another book that is not making me cry is Katherine by Anya Seton. I am so digging the historical romance thing right now, even though it’s taking me forever to finish because I am pretty much only reading on the shuttle ride from my car to work and back which is about 20 minutes a day.

11. It’s almost Friday. Supposed to be a doozy at work but it’s doable knowing the weekend is around the corner.

March 14, 2013