First present of Christmas Eve from jurica on Vimeo.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Our Christmas, 2008
 |
| From Christmas 2008 |
(Click on picture to open the album)
It was a good time. Lots of fun, toys and only a few meltdowns. Anna had a good time too.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
A glimpse into our Christmas, so far
Anna's ornament that she made at school. If that's not a mugshot, I really don't know what is.
Lambie, all nestled snug in his bed. Anna has a new obsession with putting all of her toys and animals to bed. We were missing Lambie one night at bedtime, only to find him already passed out in the chair. Too much eggnog for the old Lamb, me thinks.
Trying out her new, cool scooter from Julie. She loves it, but only to stand on--not to actually move.
All dressed up for her school Christmas party. Poor little babychild was sick but rallied through so that she could eat copious amounts of candy and cookies with her classmates.
Friday, December 19, 2008
One year of fiscal freedom
It's been almost a year since Kevin and I first began our budget overhaul. In the 350-some-odd-days since we started it (we began on Jan. 1, 2008) we've made such huge strides, financially, personally and cognitively. To say that I'm so proud of what we've accomplished in such a short of period of time is an understatement. On most days, I'm quite boastful about it and have developed an ugly tendency to judge others whom I see making the same sad and very scary mistakes that we were making prior to last year.
In the past year, we've gone from having two car notes, random, stupid credit card debit and a home mortgage that wasn't doing us any favors, to having no debt other than the mortgage, which we're steadfastly whittling away. Both cars are ours--free and clear. Credit cards are a thing of our past. Adding insult to injury, in this past year, we've had an insane amount of surprise, emergency home-maintenance costs to reckon with. We had to replace our whole air conditioning unit (in mid-July, thankyouverymuch). We had to replace our sewer line. We had to have a new driveway poured--I'm talking about seriously large home repairs that we paid for quickly and don't have hanging over our heads. We live day to day on cash only. I've learned so much about what things cost. I used to pay very little attention to the price of things--and mind you, I wasn't a pretentious shopping snob. If I needed something at the grocery store, I'd grab whatever looked good. Now, I actually look at the stickers on the shelf that breakdown the cost per ounce and such and use that as a guide in my decision making. Who'd've thunk those little stickers could be so helpful?
You should know that this budget hasn't made us "dumpster divers" or ridiculously frugal at all. (Although, I'm saddened at the connotation that the word "frugal" now has--as someone who is cheap, miserly and selfish--when being frugal is, in fact, a noble trait to have) I still shop. Jenny shops a lot. Now though, I save my money for the things that I want. I wait until the time and/or price is right. We still eat well...very well, if I do say so myself. We eat a lot of organic produce. We eat fresh salmon almost weekly. We eat out at restaurants when the mood strikes, when a babysitter is available and when there's money in the "Dining" envelope to warrant it. Let me tell you, having Anna put a big dent in our habit of eating out. It's not fun to eat at a restaurant with a toddler. I'd much rather eat out without having to worry about a mid-appetizer meltdown or a mid-entree crapfest. So, when we do go out to eat now (when we have an all-important and much-appreciated babysitter) we enjoy it. We relish in the luxury of it...the decadence, if you will.
I firmly believe that all couples (especially soon-to-be married couples) should have counseling and a large part of this counseling should be financial counseling. Couples need to be on the same page when dealing with money. There needs to be an honest dialog about money. Couples need to plan and save together, but also have a little of their own, guilt-free money. For the first time in our marriage, instead of Kevin and I doing our own thing and spending freely, only to meet in the middle at the end of the month and say, "Where the hell is all of our money"? We actually sit down at the end of each month, put pen to paper and talk about what expenses we'll be facing in the coming month. I might bring up that I'd like to get a pedicure soon, so Kevin accounts for that in the budget. Kevin might say that he'll be having a few lunches out at work in the coming weeks, so we account for that as well. It is so freeing to discuss the little things like this and to work together toward a common goal. In the past year we simply changed our way of thinking about money and grew up, accepted responsibility and have made a big change in our future. I'm so proud of us...you have no idea.
I awoke this morning and turned on the news, only to hear the discussion about the government's new "rules" for credit card companies, to help aid in getting Americans out of debt. This makes me mad. Kevin and I got ourselves out of debt all on our own--with no help from the government. We paid off our credit cards...much of which included paying for penalties, "unfair" charges and the like. The way I see it, that's the price you pay to borrow money in the first place--nothing is free. It makes me mad that Americans feel like they're entitled to this help. Boo Waaa. Kevin and I were discussing this topic this morning, after listening on the news about the mortgage crisis. Kevin said that he thinks that's why we're in this mortgage crisis in the first place: Mortgage companies were forced to give mortgages away to too many people--the government demanded it. The way I see it, owning a home is the "American Dream"....not an "entitlement". Home ownership should be something that you work toward to attain, not something that you demand is your right as a citizen. Renting an apartment or home is a fine option for people who aren't ready to accept the responsibility of owning a home...Lord knows Kevin and I did our fair share of renting and, while it does stink to feel like you're throwing that rent money away each month, it's also a good practice in money management and makes you appreciate the value of buying a home eventually and seeing your hard financial work pay off accordingly.
We read (well, Kevin actually read it and then preached the gospel to me) Dave Ramsey's book, "Total Money Makeover" late in 2007, which prompted our budget changes. I highly recommend it. And, all of you adult family members who read this blog should be thanking your lucky stars that we're only buying Christmas gifts for the kids this year because, otherwise, you'd all be getting a copy of this book--not because you need it necessarily, but because Kevin and I have become like Mormon Bible peddlers. I think a copy of Ramsey's book should be right next to the Bible in every hotel nightstand. And, be thankful that it's not available in board-book form, otherwise all of the little cousins, nieces and nephews would be getting the book at well.
In the past year, we've gone from having two car notes, random, stupid credit card debit and a home mortgage that wasn't doing us any favors, to having no debt other than the mortgage, which we're steadfastly whittling away. Both cars are ours--free and clear. Credit cards are a thing of our past. Adding insult to injury, in this past year, we've had an insane amount of surprise, emergency home-maintenance costs to reckon with. We had to replace our whole air conditioning unit (in mid-July, thankyouverymuch). We had to replace our sewer line. We had to have a new driveway poured--I'm talking about seriously large home repairs that we paid for quickly and don't have hanging over our heads. We live day to day on cash only. I've learned so much about what things cost. I used to pay very little attention to the price of things--and mind you, I wasn't a pretentious shopping snob. If I needed something at the grocery store, I'd grab whatever looked good. Now, I actually look at the stickers on the shelf that breakdown the cost per ounce and such and use that as a guide in my decision making. Who'd've thunk those little stickers could be so helpful?
You should know that this budget hasn't made us "dumpster divers" or ridiculously frugal at all. (Although, I'm saddened at the connotation that the word "frugal" now has--as someone who is cheap, miserly and selfish--when being frugal is, in fact, a noble trait to have) I still shop. Jenny shops a lot. Now though, I save my money for the things that I want. I wait until the time and/or price is right. We still eat well...very well, if I do say so myself. We eat a lot of organic produce. We eat fresh salmon almost weekly. We eat out at restaurants when the mood strikes, when a babysitter is available and when there's money in the "Dining" envelope to warrant it. Let me tell you, having Anna put a big dent in our habit of eating out. It's not fun to eat at a restaurant with a toddler. I'd much rather eat out without having to worry about a mid-appetizer meltdown or a mid-entree crapfest. So, when we do go out to eat now (when we have an all-important and much-appreciated babysitter) we enjoy it. We relish in the luxury of it...the decadence, if you will.
I firmly believe that all couples (especially soon-to-be married couples) should have counseling and a large part of this counseling should be financial counseling. Couples need to be on the same page when dealing with money. There needs to be an honest dialog about money. Couples need to plan and save together, but also have a little of their own, guilt-free money. For the first time in our marriage, instead of Kevin and I doing our own thing and spending freely, only to meet in the middle at the end of the month and say, "Where the hell is all of our money"? We actually sit down at the end of each month, put pen to paper and talk about what expenses we'll be facing in the coming month. I might bring up that I'd like to get a pedicure soon, so Kevin accounts for that in the budget. Kevin might say that he'll be having a few lunches out at work in the coming weeks, so we account for that as well. It is so freeing to discuss the little things like this and to work together toward a common goal. In the past year we simply changed our way of thinking about money and grew up, accepted responsibility and have made a big change in our future. I'm so proud of us...you have no idea.
I awoke this morning and turned on the news, only to hear the discussion about the government's new "rules" for credit card companies, to help aid in getting Americans out of debt. This makes me mad. Kevin and I got ourselves out of debt all on our own--with no help from the government. We paid off our credit cards...much of which included paying for penalties, "unfair" charges and the like. The way I see it, that's the price you pay to borrow money in the first place--nothing is free. It makes me mad that Americans feel like they're entitled to this help. Boo Waaa. Kevin and I were discussing this topic this morning, after listening on the news about the mortgage crisis. Kevin said that he thinks that's why we're in this mortgage crisis in the first place: Mortgage companies were forced to give mortgages away to too many people--the government demanded it. The way I see it, owning a home is the "American Dream"....not an "entitlement". Home ownership should be something that you work toward to attain, not something that you demand is your right as a citizen. Renting an apartment or home is a fine option for people who aren't ready to accept the responsibility of owning a home...Lord knows Kevin and I did our fair share of renting and, while it does stink to feel like you're throwing that rent money away each month, it's also a good practice in money management and makes you appreciate the value of buying a home eventually and seeing your hard financial work pay off accordingly.
We read (well, Kevin actually read it and then preached the gospel to me) Dave Ramsey's book, "Total Money Makeover" late in 2007, which prompted our budget changes. I highly recommend it. And, all of you adult family members who read this blog should be thanking your lucky stars that we're only buying Christmas gifts for the kids this year because, otherwise, you'd all be getting a copy of this book--not because you need it necessarily, but because Kevin and I have become like Mormon Bible peddlers. I think a copy of Ramsey's book should be right next to the Bible in every hotel nightstand. And, be thankful that it's not available in board-book form, otherwise all of the little cousins, nieces and nephews would be getting the book at well.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
Well, almost wordless. You know I can't not tell a story.
Anyway, don't you love it when a cute outfit just seems to come together on an otherwise boring day?
Anyway, don't you love it when a cute outfit just seems to come together on an otherwise boring day?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
It's just not the Holidays...
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
until Jenny goes and Elfs her family up. Enjoy and please disregard my evil eyes and too-large face. Anna, however, makes an ADORABLE elf, in my humble opinion.
Friday, December 12, 2008
More snow pictures
Because, yes...we're still talking about the "Great Snow of 2008" around these here parts. The first picture is of Anna, earlier in the day (when, in reality, it was still just sleeting--and yes, that's our very "Griswoldian" tangle of extension cords that are currently powering our outdoor lights that you see in the background. Kevin's a master of exterior illumination).The second is of her eating her first snowball, taken later that night (that's snow in her right hand and cheese in her left, just to clarify).
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Best Birthday Ever
It snowed on my 34th birthday. Miracle on 34th, indeed. What you can't see from this picture is the inside of my home, filled with good friends and lots of laughter. It was a grand day.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Blatantly Ruining Families' Christmases since 2008!
I've written here before about the Mom's group that I belong to. Back when Anna was a wee little thing, the playgroups were a good exercise in getting out of the house and navigating our way through the social dynamics of new parenthood. After awhile, I lost interest in the playgroups because, while I did click with a few of the moms, there were a few moms that consistently kept me away. Now, my affiliation with the group is by and large via the computer. We have a very active message board and marketplace. I've read a lot of interesting parenting tips on the message board and scored a lot of good loot on the marketplace. The thing with this group is that a lot of the women are hard-core piranhas with iron-clad views on parenthood. I've seen other moms ripped to shreds for posting about controversial parenting techniques, such as "Crying it out" or other atrocities like formula-feeding. I'm honestly not sure how much of it is truly intentional snark and how much of it is sarcasm that just doesn't translate well to written word--either way though, it takes a lot for me to post a question or comment. I deliberate for days before I act because it really does feel like being thrown into the shark tank with a bucket of chum.
I guess I was feeling giddy last week due to the Holidays, because I put on my big girl knickers and posted, not once, but twice on the message board. First of all, we had such a good experience at the place where we got out Christmas tree that I felt compelled to put a plug for the nursery on the message board. I knew that in posting this message, I was setting myself up for the following, possible commentary:
Instead, the actual response that I got went something like this:
Ok, so it wasn't that bad, but there were words used like "disaster" and "devastated".
Oh, but wait! I actually managed to ruin another family's Christmas too. Read on.
Then...another mom had posted early last week (before I selfishly ruined the Christmas of that other family due to my Houston Garden Center recommendation) asking if anyone knew of a way for her to find out what Holiday specials were coming on tv and when, as she wasn't having any luck finding that info on her cable guide or online (Amazingly enough, she didn't get ripped a new one about the dangers of letting children watch tv. I thought that was a given and was cowering in the corner, waiting to see that fight begin). Well, it just so happened that, earlier that week, I had received an email with a link to that very thing: A great, comprehensive list of all of the Holidays specials coming on tv in the month of December. I sheepishly commented on her query and included the link. While I did get a couple of nice responses, such as, "Thanks! That's exactly what I've been looking for" or "Oh wow...this is great!" I got the following response from another mom:
Again, it wasn't that bad, but it was very rude and, again, I got blamed for someone else's screw up (just to clarify, on this website of Holiday specials, it does say at the top of the page, "All times Eastern").
So, I'm going to refrain from posting anything else on that message board, probably for the rest of my life. I just hate ruining people's Holidays and their lives.
You're a mean one, Mrs. Grinch. You really are an eel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel. Mrs. Grinch. You're a bad banana with a greasy, black peel.
I guess I was feeling giddy last week due to the Holidays, because I put on my big girl knickers and posted, not once, but twice on the message board. First of all, we had such a good experience at the place where we got out Christmas tree that I felt compelled to put a plug for the nursery on the message board. I knew that in posting this message, I was setting myself up for the following, possible commentary:
A real tree? Wow, don't you know how many children are allergic to pine? How dangerous to bring a virtual army of allergens and pollutants into your home. What kind of mother are you?
Or
How sad that you sacrificed a living thing in order to showcase the gluttonous display of consumerism that you're teaching to your child. At the very least, I hope that you decorate your rotting corpse of a deceased tree with LED lights and don't chose to kill the Earth with energy-consuming twinkle lights.
Instead, the actual response that I got went something like this:
We were so excited to go and get our tree from Houston Garden Center, after the glowing review that the above poster (Hi! That's me!) gave. Everything went well until we got the tree home and realized that the base was leaking water all over our floor. Now, we're having to take all of the decorations off of it and try to figure out the problem. Our daughter is devastated to have to un-decorate the tree. What a disaster. The above poster has effectively ruined our Christmas and is responsible for the irreparable damage done to our 1923 pine floors in our perfect little Heights Bungalow. Shame on you.
Ok, so it wasn't that bad, but there were words used like "disaster" and "devastated".
Oh, but wait! I actually managed to ruin another family's Christmas too. Read on.
Then...another mom had posted early last week (before I selfishly ruined the Christmas of that other family due to my Houston Garden Center recommendation) asking if anyone knew of a way for her to find out what Holiday specials were coming on tv and when, as she wasn't having any luck finding that info on her cable guide or online (Amazingly enough, she didn't get ripped a new one about the dangers of letting children watch tv. I thought that was a given and was cowering in the corner, waiting to see that fight begin). Well, it just so happened that, earlier that week, I had received an email with a link to that very thing: A great, comprehensive list of all of the Holidays specials coming on tv in the month of December. I sheepishly commented on her query and included the link. While I did get a couple of nice responses, such as, "Thanks! That's exactly what I've been looking for" or "Oh wow...this is great!" I got the following response from another mom:
Well, I hope that everyone doesn't make the same mistake my family did. Apparently all of the times listed are EASTERN time, not Central. Therefore, we missed the show that we were so excited to see. Thanks for ruining our Christmas.
Again, it wasn't that bad, but it was very rude and, again, I got blamed for someone else's screw up (just to clarify, on this website of Holiday specials, it does say at the top of the page, "All times Eastern").
So, I'm going to refrain from posting anything else on that message board, probably for the rest of my life. I just hate ruining people's Holidays and their lives.
You're a mean one, Mrs. Grinch. You really are an eel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel. Mrs. Grinch. You're a bad banana with a greasy, black peel.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Anna W. Griswold
Anna and I have a new hobby, which has turned out to be fun for both of us. Most weekday afternoons, we drive to a neighborhood park and meet friends for a good playground romp. This helps Anna get the last bit of her wiggles out for the day and helps soak up the hardest part of the day for Mommy--the hours leading up to Daddy's arrival home. Lately, because of the time change and the Holidays approaching, by the time we leave the park, lots of houses already have their Christmas lights turned on and it's dark enough outside to enjoy them. So, we've been taking the long way home and looking at lights. Anna is a champ at pointing out Santa from 100 paces. She recognizes him whether he's a "Snoopy Santa" a "Surfer Dude Santa" or a "Cowboy Santa" (all of whom adorn yards in this area). She also points out reindeer in various forms. Her favorite by far though, are the lights. She sits in the backseat and, as soon as we pass a house that has lights on it, she starts feverishly making the sign for "more" (which is usually only reserved for really, really good food snacks and her beloved gummy vitamins) and says, "More lights?" over and over until we find another house that is lit up.
Kevin put our lights up last weekend, so before we leave for the park, I turn ours on so that Anna can see them lit up when we arrive back at home. Every day now, when we turn into our driveway, she says the following: "Home! Pretty lights! Good job, Daddy"
Where was Anna when Clark Griswold needed that kind of reassurance?
"The little lights...they're not twinkling"
Kevin put our lights up last weekend, so before we leave for the park, I turn ours on so that Anna can see them lit up when we arrive back at home. Every day now, when we turn into our driveway, she says the following: "Home! Pretty lights! Good job, Daddy"
Where was Anna when Clark Griswold needed that kind of reassurance?
"The little lights...they're not twinkling"
Monday, December 01, 2008
Whew!
For those of you who've been all-consumed with worry over the alleged "hipster" baby name that I've been contemplating for Baby Brother, you can all breathe a sigh of relief. Dear, sweet Kevin officially vetoed my selection while in the car, on our Thanksgiving roadtrip and now we're in talks about naming him something entirely different (and decidedly less-hip). Relax and know that at least one of Baby Brother's DNA donors has good taste in boy names. Doesn't seem quite fair that I don't get complete naming rights, since I'm the one doing all of the work and all, but still...I'm not bitter. It's fine. Really.
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