I've discovered that I actually really enjoy running errands with Perrin. For one thing, it gets us out of the house--a welcome change of routine these days. For another, Perrin is just so adorable that I want to show him off to everyone--the bank teller, the Wal-Mart cashier, the post office clerk. I feel like a little kid holding up my artwork and saying, "See what I made? Pretty stinkin' amazing, huh?"
Maybe not everyone is quite as enthralled with him as I am. But I do have lots of old ladies ooh and aah over him. The other day we were grocery shopping together and a nice elderly lady told me he was gorgeous (yes, I know) and asked me how much I would take for him. (I considered telling her she could have him all night long for free, but I restrained myself. Besides, he's really not that bad at night anymore. Most of the time.)
Extra bonus: Even if Perrin is having a bad day, he almost never cries when he's in his car seat or stroller. I almost hate to even mention this in case I jinx myself, but so far it's the truth.
I think I'm almost ready to attempt taking him to the movie theater. Trey has to work late all next month, so I'm thinking of going to a matinee with Perrin on a weekday. If I'm brave enough to actually give it a whirl, I'll let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Confessions of a cheapskate
Trey and I made a major financial sacrifice when we decided I would quit working full time and stay home with Perrin. We've had to drastically reduce our spending, which means no more eating out, no more shopping trips for fun, no more weekend getaways, etc. It's tough, but totally worth it. I LOVE being home with Perrin. Even if it does mean eating ramen noodles for dinner. :)
Recently I read an article about the world's cheapest people. They recommend doing things like cutting your dryer sheets into fourths so the box will last four times as long. For annual savings of what, $3.50 a year?
Trey and I haven't gone to that extreme quite yet, but we are discovering some ways to save money. For one thing, we're doing the Angel Food Ministries program, which allows anyone to buy a box of food that's designed to feed a family of four for a week for $30. Can't beat $30 for a week's worth of groceries. Smart, huh? That's what I'm telling myself... not cheap, just smart.
But some of our other money-saving strategies are definitely starting to fall on the cheapskate side of things. For example, instead of buying Perrin toys, we take him to Wal-Mart and play with the toys there. He smiles and makes cute faces, then we put the toys back on the shelves and leave with a happy baby and wallets untouched. Smart? Or cheap? Or perhaps even a tad cruel?
Oh well. If Perrin could talk, I think he would agree that playing with toys at Wal-Mart instead of at home is a sacrifice he's also willing to make to have his mommy home with him all the time. Even Trey, who has typically been more spend-y than I am, is starting to embrace his inner cheapskate. He's gotten really good at picking out the cheapest brand of dog food. (Sorry, Molly. We love you, but you are a dog, after all.)
Gotta go... I need to grab some scissors and get to work on those dryer sheets. :)
Recently I read an article about the world's cheapest people. They recommend doing things like cutting your dryer sheets into fourths so the box will last four times as long. For annual savings of what, $3.50 a year?
Trey and I haven't gone to that extreme quite yet, but we are discovering some ways to save money. For one thing, we're doing the Angel Food Ministries program, which allows anyone to buy a box of food that's designed to feed a family of four for a week for $30. Can't beat $30 for a week's worth of groceries. Smart, huh? That's what I'm telling myself... not cheap, just smart.
But some of our other money-saving strategies are definitely starting to fall on the cheapskate side of things. For example, instead of buying Perrin toys, we take him to Wal-Mart and play with the toys there. He smiles and makes cute faces, then we put the toys back on the shelves and leave with a happy baby and wallets untouched. Smart? Or cheap? Or perhaps even a tad cruel?
Oh well. If Perrin could talk, I think he would agree that playing with toys at Wal-Mart instead of at home is a sacrifice he's also willing to make to have his mommy home with him all the time. Even Trey, who has typically been more spend-y than I am, is starting to embrace his inner cheapskate. He's gotten really good at picking out the cheapest brand of dog food. (Sorry, Molly. We love you, but you are a dog, after all.)
Gotta go... I need to grab some scissors and get to work on those dryer sheets. :)
Friday, May 7, 2010
Living in the present
Throughout my pregnancy, I kept looking forward to the next big milestone. I couldn't wait to feel the baby move, then I couldn't wait to find out if we were having a boy or girl, then I couldn't wait to just get the boy out of me. I had a hard time enjoying the present because I was focused more on whatever was coming next. Now that Perrin is here, I find myself doing the same thing. I can't wait for him to crawl because he'll be soooo cute; I can't wait for him to walk so I don't have to carry him everywhere; I can't wait for him to talk so he can tell me what he wants; etc, etc.
But at the same time, I don't want to wish away the time too quickly. He won't be our tiny newborn baby for long. He's already grown so much. I'm making a new goal to just revel in whatever stage he's in and not try to wish it away too quickly.
So here's where we are: Perrin has recently learned to blow spit bubbles and has discovered his right foot. I'm very proud. :)
But at the same time, I don't want to wish away the time too quickly. He won't be our tiny newborn baby for long. He's already grown so much. I'm making a new goal to just revel in whatever stage he's in and not try to wish it away too quickly.
So here's where we are: Perrin has recently learned to blow spit bubbles and has discovered his right foot. I'm very proud. :)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Back to work
I'm officially a working mom. (Yay?) Yesterday was my first day to go back to the office. I popped in for three hours to pick up some files and talk to my boss about some projects and duties I'll be taking over. All of which I can do from home! :)
So far, so good--I put Perrin down for his morning nap around 8:30 and got two full hours of work in. My goal is ten hours a week. It's only Tuesday and I'm halfway there. I think this just might work out! Working from home is AWESOME--I can wear pajamas, munch on grapes, and listen to music as I type up articles and process orders. And if Perrin wakes up crying, I'll just clock out and try to get more done later. I was pretty worried about going back to work and trying to balance that with taking care of Perrin. But these first two days have been great! Don't have a heart attack, but I think I actually missed working. We'll see how long that lasts....
So far, so good--I put Perrin down for his morning nap around 8:30 and got two full hours of work in. My goal is ten hours a week. It's only Tuesday and I'm halfway there. I think this just might work out! Working from home is AWESOME--I can wear pajamas, munch on grapes, and listen to music as I type up articles and process orders. And if Perrin wakes up crying, I'll just clock out and try to get more done later. I was pretty worried about going back to work and trying to balance that with taking care of Perrin. But these first two days have been great! Don't have a heart attack, but I think I actually missed working. We'll see how long that lasts....
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Things I said I'd never do
Before Perrin was born, I used to say I wasn't going to let him watch TV until he was at least 2--and then, only on rare occasions. I didn't want the passive stimulation of television to inhibit his development in any way. (All the other parents reading this are already laughing, huh?) Yeah, so guess how long that lasted? About two weeks. I was having a really rough day with Perrin and I finally plopped him down on a blanket on the floor and turned on a baby DVD that someone had given us. I just needed a few minutes away from him to breathe deeply. But after a few minutes, I realized he wasn't crying. I peeked around the corner at him and saw him deeply engrossed in the colors and shapes bouncing across the TV screen.
Needless to say, I have reformed my wayward opinions about the television. It's a God-send!
So now I'm wondering how many of my other good intentions are going to go the way of the dinosaurs. I had all kinds of ideas about things I would or wouldn't do:
"I'm going to teach Perrin baby sign language!"
"I'm not going to rock Perrin to sleep because I want him to learn to fall asleep on his own."
"I'm going to read Perrin a book every night so he'll develop an early love for reading."
"I'm not going to give Perrin a pacifier because I don't want it to affect his teeth."
And on, and on, and on. But my visions of "good parenting" are rapidly becoming "good enough parenting." And you know what? I don't even feel guilty about it. I was probably placing too high of expectations not only on myself, but on him as well. So what if we have to rock him to sleep every night? He's so warm and snuggly and cute, and he loves being rocked to sleep. So what if he never learns baby sign language? I can usually figure out what he needs anyway. He's happy, well fed, and well loved. That qualifies for good enough in my (slightly reformed) opinion.
Needless to say, I have reformed my wayward opinions about the television. It's a God-send!
So now I'm wondering how many of my other good intentions are going to go the way of the dinosaurs. I had all kinds of ideas about things I would or wouldn't do:
"I'm going to teach Perrin baby sign language!"
"I'm not going to rock Perrin to sleep because I want him to learn to fall asleep on his own."
"I'm going to read Perrin a book every night so he'll develop an early love for reading."
"I'm not going to give Perrin a pacifier because I don't want it to affect his teeth."
And on, and on, and on. But my visions of "good parenting" are rapidly becoming "good enough parenting." And you know what? I don't even feel guilty about it. I was probably placing too high of expectations not only on myself, but on him as well. So what if we have to rock him to sleep every night? He's so warm and snuggly and cute, and he loves being rocked to sleep. So what if he never learns baby sign language? I can usually figure out what he needs anyway. He's happy, well fed, and well loved. That qualifies for good enough in my (slightly reformed) opinion.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Romance? Yes, I vaguely remember the concept...
Everyone says that romance takes a nosedive when you have a baby in the house. And it's no wonder--when you're sleep deprived, covered in spit-up, and wearing sweat pants 24/7 because those darn pre-pregnancy pants are still too tight, you're not going to want to do much of anything with those few precious moments of time away from the baby except take a hot shower and go to sleep.
But I definitely realize the importance of making our marriage a priority, especially now that we have a baby. So last weekend, I surprised Trey with a date. He thought we were going over to my parents' house to help them tile their porch (just what he wants to do on his Saturday), but really we were just going over there to drop off Perrin. Once I let Trey in on the secret, we went out for dinner and saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." (Totally romantic, I know. But I picked this one because Trey kept saying he wanted to see it. And it was pretty good, if not exactly the epitome of romance.) Then we went to the driving range and attempted to hit golf balls. (I say "attempted" because it's way harder than it looks to make contact with the ball. And actually hitting it out into the field rather than straight up in the air or bouncing it off the grass three feet in front of you? Well, that's grounds for celebration).
But alas, date night had to end. All of our focus once again returned to our baby. But it felt so good just to get away for a little while--just the two of us to spend time together and laugh our heads off at how bad we are at golfing. I think if we can manage to do something like this every once in a while, we just might keep our sanity. And maybe someday, romance won't be quite so elusive. And right about then, when life has settled into a comfortably normal routine and we've finally gotten the hang of balancing family time and romantic time, I'm guessing God will decide it's time for us to have another baby.
But I definitely realize the importance of making our marriage a priority, especially now that we have a baby. So last weekend, I surprised Trey with a date. He thought we were going over to my parents' house to help them tile their porch (just what he wants to do on his Saturday), but really we were just going over there to drop off Perrin. Once I let Trey in on the secret, we went out for dinner and saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." (Totally romantic, I know. But I picked this one because Trey kept saying he wanted to see it. And it was pretty good, if not exactly the epitome of romance.) Then we went to the driving range and attempted to hit golf balls. (I say "attempted" because it's way harder than it looks to make contact with the ball. And actually hitting it out into the field rather than straight up in the air or bouncing it off the grass three feet in front of you? Well, that's grounds for celebration).
But alas, date night had to end. All of our focus once again returned to our baby. But it felt so good just to get away for a little while--just the two of us to spend time together and laugh our heads off at how bad we are at golfing. I think if we can manage to do something like this every once in a while, we just might keep our sanity. And maybe someday, romance won't be quite so elusive. And right about then, when life has settled into a comfortably normal routine and we've finally gotten the hang of balancing family time and romantic time, I'm guessing God will decide it's time for us to have another baby.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)