- Mom came down Tuesday, and we're trying to get this house clean. It's hard when Phoebe is so. much. fun.!
- Yesterday, Michael came down with the yuck, and is now in quarantine.
- We are supposed to leave for the mountains with Michael's family this afternoon. We're waiting to see how Patient X is doing.
- Today, I will either be packing like a madwoman or taking care of Mr. Sick at an arm's length. I definitely do not want to get what he's got! (I still love you, Honey!)
- More to come, seriously.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Where am I?
Evidently, I always choose to update while there is noise coming from Phoebe's bedroom... so this will be in list form:
Monday, February 25, 2008
Exciting Stuff!
I've got about two seconds before I need to get up the Sleeping Critter, but I'm so excited about all this stuff I could just bust!
- Our friends Drew and Kimberly are having their long awaited baby boy today! She was induced at 6 am, so we're expecting news any minute (or hour)!
- Our friends Derek and Margaret are having their long awaited baby girl tomorrow!
- This makes babies #5 and #6 in the past year for our small group. WOW!
- Less exciting than a baby, but still super wonderful: Mom is coming down tomorrow to help me get some stuff done around the house and to just have some girl time. Much needed, and much anticipated. It has been since before Christmas that mom has been able to come and play!
- Even less exciting, but still cool: I got my check in the mail from the consignment sale I did a few weeks ago... I made WAY more than I thought I would! I must've sold everything I put up for sale! It's always a blessing to have a little unexpected money in the bank.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday Morning Confessions
Friday night is usually our homemade pizza night, but since Michael is going to a conference tonight, I decided to let dinner cook itself. Sort of.
Pot roasts were on sale this week, and we didn't eat it earlier in the week, so tonight was Mr. Roast's lucky night. And fortunately for me, pot roast night means about ten minutes of assembling in the morning, and very little work come 5:00. This is always a good thing.
So I'm chopping my onions into wedges, tossing them in the pot... and the tears start a-streamin'. Although I'm usually immune to eau d'onion, this morning was the exception. (Perhaps it was the morning time?) So I did the only classy thing.
I wiped my eyes with my sweatshirt.
Only to discover that the cuffs of my sweatshirt are now streaked with mascara. From last night, of course. I am such a winner.
I am so bringing sexy back.
Pot roasts were on sale this week, and we didn't eat it earlier in the week, so tonight was Mr. Roast's lucky night. And fortunately for me, pot roast night means about ten minutes of assembling in the morning, and very little work come 5:00. This is always a good thing.
So I'm chopping my onions into wedges, tossing them in the pot... and the tears start a-streamin'. Although I'm usually immune to eau d'onion, this morning was the exception. (Perhaps it was the morning time?) So I did the only classy thing.
I wiped my eyes with my sweatshirt.
Only to discover that the cuffs of my sweatshirt are now streaked with mascara. From last night, of course. I am such a winner.
I am so bringing sexy back.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Rainy Days
So, I am all about a good rainy day. When I woke up and heard the rain this morning, I knew I'd be in trouble. Everything is going in sloooooow motion. Which is not a good sign, because we're about to kick off a very busy three days!
Case in point: Phoebe's down for her nap, it's 10:00, and I'm already contemplating my own personal nap for the day. It's not too early, is it? I didn't think so.
In other news (but then again, is my laziness really news?), Phoebe made my day yesterday. After three months of saying "dada" and "Jake", she finally began babbling "mamamamamama". And while she wasn't saying it to me per se... it almost made me cry to hear her make that sound! It was one hundred percent exciting.
Anyway, I'm off. This is a worthless post. I shall close with a picture, to reward you for sticking around even this long:
And now I return to lazytown.
Case in point: Phoebe's down for her nap, it's 10:00, and I'm already contemplating my own personal nap for the day. It's not too early, is it? I didn't think so.
In other news (but then again, is my laziness really news?), Phoebe made my day yesterday. After three months of saying "dada" and "Jake", she finally began babbling "mamamamamama". And while she wasn't saying it to me per se... it almost made me cry to hear her make that sound! It was one hundred percent exciting.
Anyway, I'm off. This is a worthless post. I shall close with a picture, to reward you for sticking around even this long:
And now I return to lazytown.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Financial Freedom -- WFMW
For me, budget used to be a four-letter-word. When Michael and I first got married, I had this debilitating fear of money. Like, I was okay with using it... but on a very frugal, as needed basis. But I did not want to know how much we had, if we were in trouble, how much I was spending, etc. I just knew that I didn't want to go into debt.
So my sweet husband handled all the bills, really, all the finances for the first two years we were married. For those two years, I didn't even open a bank statement. I just trusted him to tell me that we were doing okay. Which brings us to last summer.
I was no longer bringing in an income, but we did have another mouth to feed. And our "cushion" from my working days was beginning to dwindle. If we didn't begin to make and stick to a budget immediately, we would be in trouble. See, it wasn't that we didn't have the money to make my staying at home work... it was that we just weren't handling it right.
But remember, budget is a four-letter-word to me.
So Michael solved that problem. Programmer that he is, he's always looking to write simple software that solves basic, life problems. It's a hobby of his, really. So Michael wrote myBudget. It's a very simple, easy to use budgeting software that would help us keep track of our spending. And somehow, it was nonthreatening enough for me to consider using. And in fact, I did use it. And I continue to use it!
And amazingly enough, my fear of things financial has dwindled. I can see, at a glance, where I have wiggle room and where I have to tighten up. In fact, we already know that next month we're going to have to re-evaluate our budget for groceries -- because I've busted it twice in the past two months. (Diapers and formula, anyone?) The trick to myBudget is that you actually have to use it -- it doesn't budget for you!
If you're interested in reading more about myBudget, check our Michael's blog about the software, or go to the myBudget project page. You can download it for free there. It is truly worth your while, and I promise that if you are committed to using it, it will simplify your budgeting and will bring you a greater sense of financial peace. I promise.
For other great tips and ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday!
So my sweet husband handled all the bills, really, all the finances for the first two years we were married. For those two years, I didn't even open a bank statement. I just trusted him to tell me that we were doing okay. Which brings us to last summer.
I was no longer bringing in an income, but we did have another mouth to feed. And our "cushion" from my working days was beginning to dwindle. If we didn't begin to make and stick to a budget immediately, we would be in trouble. See, it wasn't that we didn't have the money to make my staying at home work... it was that we just weren't handling it right.
But remember, budget is a four-letter-word to me.
So Michael solved that problem. Programmer that he is, he's always looking to write simple software that solves basic, life problems. It's a hobby of his, really. So Michael wrote myBudget. It's a very simple, easy to use budgeting software that would help us keep track of our spending. And somehow, it was nonthreatening enough for me to consider using. And in fact, I did use it. And I continue to use it!
And amazingly enough, my fear of things financial has dwindled. I can see, at a glance, where I have wiggle room and where I have to tighten up. In fact, we already know that next month we're going to have to re-evaluate our budget for groceries -- because I've busted it twice in the past two months. (Diapers and formula, anyone?) The trick to myBudget is that you actually have to use it -- it doesn't budget for you!
If you're interested in reading more about myBudget, check our Michael's blog about the software, or go to the myBudget project page. You can download it for free there. It is truly worth your while, and I promise that if you are committed to using it, it will simplify your budgeting and will bring you a greater sense of financial peace. I promise.
For other great tips and ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Feedings
I was amazed at how not into it Phoebe was, but we pretended for a minute with this picture. Don't worry: Mops is holding on to the back of her overalls, so she's not about to flop in. Phoebe did, however, enjoy being outside, so that was a plus.
It's always a challenge to ease back into a Monday after a weekend with Michael home, but it seems especially hard today. Hopefully I'll get some pep in my step before the end of the day!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sabbath
It wasn't that long ago -- a year, to be precise -- that I was a working woman. I pulled long hours at the elementary school, and I didn't particularly love it. I mean, I loved teaching, and I loved the kids...I just didn't love all that it required to actually be a teacher. It meant that I was spent at night and didn't want to do anything but eat dinner and rest. It meant that my housework piled up, and I never really had the energy to do anything fun.
My working days also seemed to keep Sunday from being a day of rest. Sunday somehow became laundry/grocery/project day... and thus, I perpetuated my exhaustion. It was this vicious cycle, and I hated it.
Now that I am a stay at home mom (who works even harder than I did during my teaching days!), my work is all that housework stuff that I piled into two days on the weekends. So it's not that there's not anything to do on Sundays (there is), it's just that I can feel a lot better about not doing it.
We've tried to quite literally make Sunday a day of rest for us. The second Phoebe goes down, Michael and I get into bed and take a nap. We rest our tired bodies, even for just a half hour. I got up a little bit ago from that nap to pick up and unpack from our trip, but I felt the siren call of rest. So I grabbed Michael's laptop and jumped back into bed, where I can instead gaze upon our packed bags and piled up shoes.
And strangely, I'm okay with this.
God is so good to give us a day of worship and rest. This isn't to say that I won't wash bottles before bedtime, or put away some clothes if I feel the urge. I might even pick up a few essentials at the store in case it does in fact snow tomorrow. But the spirit of our day is worshipful and restful, and I am so thankful. What a world of difference it makes on Monday!
My working days also seemed to keep Sunday from being a day of rest. Sunday somehow became laundry/grocery/project day... and thus, I perpetuated my exhaustion. It was this vicious cycle, and I hated it.
Now that I am a stay at home mom (who works even harder than I did during my teaching days!), my work is all that housework stuff that I piled into two days on the weekends. So it's not that there's not anything to do on Sundays (there is), it's just that I can feel a lot better about not doing it.
We've tried to quite literally make Sunday a day of rest for us. The second Phoebe goes down, Michael and I get into bed and take a nap. We rest our tired bodies, even for just a half hour. I got up a little bit ago from that nap to pick up and unpack from our trip, but I felt the siren call of rest. So I grabbed Michael's laptop and jumped back into bed, where I can instead gaze upon our packed bags and piled up shoes.
And strangely, I'm okay with this.
God is so good to give us a day of worship and rest. This isn't to say that I won't wash bottles before bedtime, or put away some clothes if I feel the urge. I might even pick up a few essentials at the store in case it does in fact snow tomorrow. But the spirit of our day is worshipful and restful, and I am so thankful. What a world of difference it makes on Monday!
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