Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Wisdom from Law School


One of my professors is currently a judge in the Bankruptcy Court of Dallas. He's fabulous! Though I had wished I skipped class on Monday (I felt so sick after over-doing it this weekend with events and stress) since all we did was chat about the effects of bankruptcy, I was glad to get a friendly reminder of how well Jonathan and I truly have it in life.

Judge Hale offered a little anecdote about his life and the fact that he and his wife enjoyed many times of great wealth (being a partner in a big firm helps that!), when they had time to go and do fun activities (hiring a babysitter without thinking about the cost?!), date nights, trips, etc. They'd also experienced times of being, well, BROKE. Nothing in the bank? Not necessarily, but certainly living basically paycheck to paycheck in order to send their son to the most expensive school in the country, be it with great pride. He said to us, "Y'all...its WAY easier to have a happy relationship when you don't have to always worry about money! Even the strongest of bonds are tested when there's not quite enough to make it through the month. If you're worried about making a mortgage payment or skipping a few bills here to pay a few others there, it can be extremely stressful. Not to mention the stress it puts on your kids when they know money is tight." (these quotes are for effect - I'm definitely summarizing here).

You'd better believe I went right home and gave my husband a big hug and told him what a great job I think we're doing navigating this difficult time in our lives. We bought a wonderful home at a time when we were young, had two good jobs, and no kids. Well, within two years, one of us had left her job and we'd added a kiddo to the mix. What was I thinking?! Hahaha. Sure, we knew what was coming and have done our best to prepare in any way possible, but its been a long 2.5 years so far and we've got a little ways more to go before the light finally comes to us again. I can honestly say we're doing a pretty darn good job keeping our marriage a priority and making sure we don't let the struggles that always come at the end of the school semester (aka the most broke times of the year!) get us too down. We'll have our times of ease someday, and even if things are easier in the money department, there will always be issues elsewhere. Thank God we have our health (who sound old?! This girl!).

Money doesn't make people happy...but not having money can easily make people unhappy.

To all those who have to tighten the belt for whatever reason (loss of job, medical bills, new home brokedness, new kid budgeting, etc), keep your head up and keep trucking! We can do it!

(I'm still laughing at the article I read about moms on a budget who can't justify buying organic all the time...and all the guilt they feel from other moms constantly talking about shopping only at Sprouts or neighborhood markets or buying grass-fed beef or whatnot...I AM THAT MOM WHO PASSES THE ORGANICS! Not always, and I do love me some Sprouts. But don't judge me for getting the broccoli for $.99 instead of the "special" broccoli for $2.79. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and I need that extra $$ for more toilet paper! And don't get me started on my cynicism toward/skepticism of food labeling. I'm quickly evolving into a "trust no one" sort of gal. I'm not happy about it, but its true. Rant over!)

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Congratulations, Bridget–You’re FOUR! (late? who’s late?)

*Where has the time gone?! I diligently wrote this post on time on 9/7/13, but since I wrote it at work and can’t seem to post from Blogger without having the paragraphs turn into one big blob, this has been sitting in my poor, lengthy cue…Happy birthday to my baby, none the less!*

 

She's been waiting and waiting and it finally arrived. Her BIRTHDAY. My sweet girl is a big four year old and she's tickled as she can be.


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There's just so much more to say as the years go on, and making a list of likes and dislikes, things she can do, etc gets tougher and tougher. She can do so much now! Here's my best attempt while I'm sitting at the office procrastinating my work:

 

LIKES:
- most fruits (yay!)
- carrots & peanut butter
- all things breakfast (give that girl some bacon!)
- water and milk and her favorite drinks (phew! its not like she hasn't tasted a sip of soda and thinks is glorious, but she's accepted the whole "treat" idea and knows that water is best. Yay!)
- coke Slurpees and snocones (not sure where she gets that...hehehe)
- pistachios, avocado (of course), steamed broccoli (wahoo!), cottage cheese (a new like), yogurt (Mimi lets her crunch up goodies to mix in - don't we love grandparents?)
- "crunchy beans" aka a soft bean burrito with crunched up chips inside. Whatever gets us through a Mexican restaurant dinner and doesn't mean ordering nuggets and fries! A triumph!
- being outdoors & hiking with Daddy
- Daddy. She's still a Mama's girl, but since Mommy gets to be the mean one most of the time, this girl always loves going to Daddy for some good spoiling.
- Princesses. Any princess. Anytime. Anywhere.
- iPad. No, we don't have one. She still is obsessed.
- puzzles and Memory games
- Science. We've been doing more and more science experiments and she's loving seeing how things work. Having a science teacher for a Mimi and an engineer for a Grandpa explains a lot!
- nightgowns. Don't you dare try to put this girl in anything else!
- sleeping on the floor. Oy.
- preschool! We are so blessed to see her smiling face each time she heads off the school. I really hope she continues to love learning as much as she does now!
- getting her nails done. Fun!

 

DISLIKES:
- healthy meats: ground anything, fish, chicken breast, turkey (unless its the cubes and I call it ham...then she loves it)
- sleeping at bedtime. It's been a battle every day for a few weeks. Not. Cool. (now that I’m posting this late, we’ve completely recovered from this phase! Cheers!)
- having help getting dressed.
- being away from Mommy. Tear.
- most "caretaker" situations that don't involve Mommy/Daddy or preschool. Thankfully she's old enough to discuss things, but its still rough sometimes. Did I mention the not going to bed well at night? Yeah. That doesn't help behavior!
- her car seat. Great.
- being sweaty. Poor girl has gotten so much from her Daddy, and sweating after even lifting a finger is one of those traits. Poor thing.

 


Bridget,

You are such a blessing to me and your Daddy. We were just talking about how in awe we are of you and how we can't imagine our life without you. How has it already been four years since you joined our family and changed our lives forever? You zest for life is infectious and we are so proud of the little lady you have become and what is in store for your future. Thank you for being you. We love you to pieces and will never be able to tell you enough how much we truly love you.

 

Hugs and love,

 

Mommy and Daddy