I do love the holidays, but they bring a level stress to any happy, festive person. Mainly: money. The budget will always take a break from its usual "buy only what you need" mentality. Don't get me wrong, we do spend money on some fun things; eating out, pretty throw pillows, or maybe just one more cute pair of shoes for Lorelai; but all in all, we are not spenders.
I am happy to buy people little gifts that show them I love them. I do love it when I give a gift that lights up someone face...but I love it even more when its joy have nothing to do with is fiscal worth. I have already started shopping. I enjoy getting it out of the way so I can really enjoy the weeks up to Christmas. Unfortunately, the bills do not wait until a better time.
It doesn't help that the shopping lists have to share $ with other adult expenses. Car insurance, medical bills, car registration, health insurance, HOA fee, utility bills, mortgage payments, and household repairs.
I will admit, I have been stressing about it. In reality, we are fine. I know this...deep down, I know this. We will not be scant, but we will be living with lower numbers in the accounts than I'd like. Nothing like an unexpectant expense to make this reality slap me in the face again.
Today, was one of those days. At the end of August, I had a sprinkler repair service come out to fix a leaky sprinkler head. While they were here, they found other issues, but we had them all fixed. Now, 3 more sprinkler heads are leaking. I called the company again and the earliest they can come out is next Tuesday. That's right, over a week out. This service will cost some more $ than I wanted, and the leaking water will show up on my water bill for sure. The stress was hitting me hard. I sent a grumpy text to Chris expressing my frustration. I then sat down and began to tally up all the money we still have to send out.
Then I saw something on my news feed. A story about the ongoing airstrikes in Israel and Gaza. I saw pictures of families carrying their dead children. A man, weeping, holding his 11 month old whose face was smeared with blood.
They had just lost their children, their world. I looked at the pictures with my eyes swelling with tears. "What if that was my child?" How horrible it must be to lose your son or daughter, especially when they are so young. You see their lifeless bodies, and they look like they are sleeping...but you know they are not. What they were on earth is now their forever state: angels. My heart goes out to each and every one over there holding their little loved ones wrapped in a burial flag.
This Thanksgiving week I am thankful for the same thing I was last year, and for all years to come: Lorelai. No matter what stresses I have in life, I have my baby girl...not to mention another one on the way. When life feels unfair or too overwhelming, I remind myself it is nothing compared to others' hardships. This also applies to the people who have lost their homes and family members in hurricane Sandy.
This Thanksgiving I have a warm house to sleep in, clean clothes for my family, a sweet girl who smiles and giggles at our puppy, a loving husband who works hard for all we need, and we are all healthy and happy. I would write 100 checks happily knowing I still have these things.
God knew what to do to put things in perspective, and I am thankful...oh, so very thankful.
M.LEWIS
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Sicky LEL
It was 2:45 in the morning, I was stirring awake for some reason and I sighed at the time on the clock. It wasn't unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night...especially when pregnant. A few moments after glancing at the clock I hear something no one wants to hear over the baby monitor. (Yes, my almost 2 yr old still sleeps with a baby monitor in her room.) Lorelai coughed a bit and then I hear a small gag...then...nothing.
I laid there thinking "Do I get up? Maybe she was just coughing." As I was contemplating my next move I hear her door open and her little feet shuffle across the hall into our room. This too was not unusual, but instead of letting her wake up Chris and climb into bed, I decided to be proactive and get up and go to her. I leaned over to brush the hair out of her face, my vision in the dark is quite poor, and wanted to see her as best I could to assess the reason for the suspicious sounds over the monitor.
My hand immediately recoiled once it touched her messy hair. I knew then what the sounds were all about. My little sweets had gotten sick.
This stomach bug is quite odd and hard to predict. If you remember, Chris was sick last weekend with a stomach virus, and I thought once a day or two passed LEL and I were safe. Last night, in the early, early hours, we were working on 6 days since exposure to Chris and his illness. I was completely unprepared for it. It has to be related, but the time from exposure to the time of active illness is an unusually long amount of time. Again, Chris was not sick long, nor intensely; but of course, I rather not deal with it again. And why does the stomach bug always take over little bodies in the middle of the night? Lorelai has only gotten sick (in that way) twice, both of which were in her bed. That means everything must be stripped off and sterilized when you are half-awake and have about 3hrs of sleep in the bank. Of course, this time, LEL also had to be stripped down and placed in the bathtub. My poor girly. She was crying and just wanted to cuddle, but not until that lovely smell have been completely destroyed and her little body was as clean as it could be. It took about an hour to clean everything and get her beloved Lamby's in and out of the wash. She laid in bed watching Elmo, she was pretty much the sweetest little sicky ever.
Lights were out again around 4:15am...but little sleep was had by all. I was prepared to jump up at a moment's notice in case she got sick again and Lorelai had a terrible time sleeping due to being out of her element. Chris and Phoebe also had a tough time. LEL was taking up most of Chris' side of the bed...and the covers, and Phoebe had to share her snuggle spot with a toddler.
It has been about 7 hrs since this excursion began and she has been vomit free and fever free the whole time. This is encouraging. She had a few sips of water around 3:30am, then again at 7am, and once more at 9am. Still no food consumption, her call though.
I am praying for my little sweets to be strong and healthy. She already seems more herself. I also pray for my other girly, Adalaide. I sincerely hope I do not catch this bug for her sake. Not only would it be difficult to care for LEL while feeling so crummy, but I would be a mess wondering if the illness would be harming my little 21 week old still cookin'.
Keep healthy everyone out there! And drink some grape juice just to be safe! I know I did...can't hurt at this point ;)
M.LEWIS
I laid there thinking "Do I get up? Maybe she was just coughing." As I was contemplating my next move I hear her door open and her little feet shuffle across the hall into our room. This too was not unusual, but instead of letting her wake up Chris and climb into bed, I decided to be proactive and get up and go to her. I leaned over to brush the hair out of her face, my vision in the dark is quite poor, and wanted to see her as best I could to assess the reason for the suspicious sounds over the monitor.
My hand immediately recoiled once it touched her messy hair. I knew then what the sounds were all about. My little sweets had gotten sick.
This stomach bug is quite odd and hard to predict. If you remember, Chris was sick last weekend with a stomach virus, and I thought once a day or two passed LEL and I were safe. Last night, in the early, early hours, we were working on 6 days since exposure to Chris and his illness. I was completely unprepared for it. It has to be related, but the time from exposure to the time of active illness is an unusually long amount of time. Again, Chris was not sick long, nor intensely; but of course, I rather not deal with it again. And why does the stomach bug always take over little bodies in the middle of the night? Lorelai has only gotten sick (in that way) twice, both of which were in her bed. That means everything must be stripped off and sterilized when you are half-awake and have about 3hrs of sleep in the bank. Of course, this time, LEL also had to be stripped down and placed in the bathtub. My poor girly. She was crying and just wanted to cuddle, but not until that lovely smell have been completely destroyed and her little body was as clean as it could be. It took about an hour to clean everything and get her beloved Lamby's in and out of the wash. She laid in bed watching Elmo, she was pretty much the sweetest little sicky ever.
Lights were out again around 4:15am...but little sleep was had by all. I was prepared to jump up at a moment's notice in case she got sick again and Lorelai had a terrible time sleeping due to being out of her element. Chris and Phoebe also had a tough time. LEL was taking up most of Chris' side of the bed...and the covers, and Phoebe had to share her snuggle spot with a toddler.
It has been about 7 hrs since this excursion began and she has been vomit free and fever free the whole time. This is encouraging. She had a few sips of water around 3:30am, then again at 7am, and once more at 9am. Still no food consumption, her call though.
I am praying for my little sweets to be strong and healthy. She already seems more herself. I also pray for my other girly, Adalaide. I sincerely hope I do not catch this bug for her sake. Not only would it be difficult to care for LEL while feeling so crummy, but I would be a mess wondering if the illness would be harming my little 21 week old still cookin'.
Keep healthy everyone out there! And drink some grape juice just to be safe! I know I did...can't hurt at this point ;)
M.LEWIS
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
My Politics...Of Sorts
I hate to make a political post...but yet, here I am. I promise to be quick and to the point.
Social media has made politics quite different from elections before. I know I am an adult when my friends (and myself) actually care about the election. What's hard for me though, is the rudeness that comes from this. It's not just little jabs at one side or another, it's insults attacking the very core of someone's beliefs.
I have shown little signs of who I voted for online, and I plan to keep it that way.
I don't care for my own friends' cruel words preaching their perceived superiority simply because they voted for the other candidate.
We praise the ability to speak our minds, to decide who leads this country, this process that makes America the greatest country in the world. We make it sound noble and honorable...then we log in on facebook and bully our own friends because their voice doesn't match ours. You know that saying "If you talk the talk, you got to walk the walk", well, I think you should apply it to politics. The fact that we are able to vote shows the government trusts us to be mature, knowledgeable, and responsible. That doesn't include the child-like bitterness that so many seem to express.
No election has been this close. The popular vote is almost split 50/50. Depending on where you get your information, Romney is ahead by a point or two. The electoral vote is different, and harder to predict, but Obama has the lead there. I know the electoral vote is the one that counts, it is the one that determines the next President, but I can't turn a blind eye to the fact that the country (at this point) is divided evenly. How can one declare they are "clearly" in the right, when you have the same amount of people thinking the same thing about their beliefs.
I guess my purpose of this post is this: please be respectful; please be tactful; please refrain from the urge to bash half the country...your thoughts are no better/no worse, just different. Please do not gloat if your candidate wins nor pout if your candidate loses; please remember to be mature, respectful, and gracious. This isn't a game of sport, this is the future of our country, this is our children's future...let's not have them read about this election and be ashamed of their parents' attitude and unwarranted words. We are not kids on the playground anymore, we are the voices that pave the way. Let's take this role seriously and all take the high road. I know I want the future generations to be proud of how the American people handled this election, and every election. I am doing my best to achieve this, are you?
This is as political as I'd like to be...online. ;) That is all.
M.LEWIS
Social media has made politics quite different from elections before. I know I am an adult when my friends (and myself) actually care about the election. What's hard for me though, is the rudeness that comes from this. It's not just little jabs at one side or another, it's insults attacking the very core of someone's beliefs.
I have shown little signs of who I voted for online, and I plan to keep it that way.
I don't care for my own friends' cruel words preaching their perceived superiority simply because they voted for the other candidate.
We praise the ability to speak our minds, to decide who leads this country, this process that makes America the greatest country in the world. We make it sound noble and honorable...then we log in on facebook and bully our own friends because their voice doesn't match ours. You know that saying "If you talk the talk, you got to walk the walk", well, I think you should apply it to politics. The fact that we are able to vote shows the government trusts us to be mature, knowledgeable, and responsible. That doesn't include the child-like bitterness that so many seem to express.
No election has been this close. The popular vote is almost split 50/50. Depending on where you get your information, Romney is ahead by a point or two. The electoral vote is different, and harder to predict, but Obama has the lead there. I know the electoral vote is the one that counts, it is the one that determines the next President, but I can't turn a blind eye to the fact that the country (at this point) is divided evenly. How can one declare they are "clearly" in the right, when you have the same amount of people thinking the same thing about their beliefs.
I guess my purpose of this post is this: please be respectful; please be tactful; please refrain from the urge to bash half the country...your thoughts are no better/no worse, just different. Please do not gloat if your candidate wins nor pout if your candidate loses; please remember to be mature, respectful, and gracious. This isn't a game of sport, this is the future of our country, this is our children's future...let's not have them read about this election and be ashamed of their parents' attitude and unwarranted words. We are not kids on the playground anymore, we are the voices that pave the way. Let's take this role seriously and all take the high road. I know I want the future generations to be proud of how the American people handled this election, and every election. I am doing my best to achieve this, are you?
This is as political as I'd like to be...online. ;) That is all.
M.LEWIS
Monday, November 5, 2012
Illness, Halloween, and Miss Adalaide
The last few weeks have been busy. I had a bad cold a few weekends ago, being sick and pregnant is quite miserable. Luckily, the worst of my illness fell on a weekend when Chris was home to care for Lorelai.
Then came Halloween. We started off the day by going to my OB and getting a sonogram of our little baby #2. Bets were placed, the votes were in...it was pretty much divided 50/50. Girl or boy? As you all know by now, we are having another little girl!
Much deliberation went into her name. I would suggest a name, and Chris would dislike it. He would counter-offer with a different name, and I would dislike it. This has been going on since I was about 6 weeks along. And here we were, 20 weeks, and not much progress. There were names I liked, but I didn't know if I could picture calling my daughter by it. It needed to "flow" with Lorelai. I could not have a Lorelai and a Chloe. Even though I think Chloe is a cute name, it didn't match Lorelai. This concept was hard to explain to Chris. Finding a middle name was even more difficult. Just like the flow from one child's name to another, the first and middle name needed to blend together nicely. I wanted something elegant, something timeless. Not trendy, but not too...let's just say greek. (Chris likes some old names. :-P)
We had discussed many forms of a particular name, and after much thought, we decided. Adalaide Olivia Lewis. I am trying to get Lorelai to call her "baby Addy" for now. Adalaide is german, it means noble and serene. Olivia is latin and means peaceful. Olivia is on the popular side, but it has a nice ring to it, and I don't mind for a middle name...much like Lorelai Elizabeth. ;-)
I have a habit of referring to Lorelai as LEL online, due to her initials. I do not plan to refer to Adalaide as AOL though...for obvious reasons. I think I might use Addy from time to time. I still like their full names much better!
Then came Halloween. We started off the day by going to my OB and getting a sonogram of our little baby #2. Bets were placed, the votes were in...it was pretty much divided 50/50. Girl or boy? As you all know by now, we are having another little girl!
Much deliberation went into her name. I would suggest a name, and Chris would dislike it. He would counter-offer with a different name, and I would dislike it. This has been going on since I was about 6 weeks along. And here we were, 20 weeks, and not much progress. There were names I liked, but I didn't know if I could picture calling my daughter by it. It needed to "flow" with Lorelai. I could not have a Lorelai and a Chloe. Even though I think Chloe is a cute name, it didn't match Lorelai. This concept was hard to explain to Chris. Finding a middle name was even more difficult. Just like the flow from one child's name to another, the first and middle name needed to blend together nicely. I wanted something elegant, something timeless. Not trendy, but not too...let's just say greek. (Chris likes some old names. :-P)
We had discussed many forms of a particular name, and after much thought, we decided. Adalaide Olivia Lewis. I am trying to get Lorelai to call her "baby Addy" for now. Adalaide is german, it means noble and serene. Olivia is latin and means peaceful. Olivia is on the popular side, but it has a nice ring to it, and I don't mind for a middle name...much like Lorelai Elizabeth. ;-)
I have a habit of referring to Lorelai as LEL online, due to her initials. I do not plan to refer to Adalaide as AOL though...for obvious reasons. I think I might use Addy from time to time. I still like their full names much better!
The rest of Halloween was pretty laid back. Lorelai did finally wear her cape without crying to make one cute Little Red Riding Hood. She only made it to about 6 or 7 houses before she got too uncomfortable and wanted to go home to play with the glow sticks. Her wand is a glow stick given to her by her Grandma (my mom). We also had mummy dogs, chips and queso, and a cheese ball. I think I was craving cheese when I went shopping for food. :-P
This past weekend Chris was sick. I still do not know what it was. He woke up Saturday with an uncomfortable tummy. He got sick a few times within a few hours and slept most of the day. He had an elevated temperature, and was congested with a sore throat. I think maybe he finally caught the cold I had a few weeks ago, but I do not understand the stomach bug. Maybe it was the congestion? Something he ate? Something else entirely? Who knows. I am just glad Lorelai and myself did not get sick...yet. I filled my time by entertaining LEL and doing some crafty stuff. I covered the lamp in LEL's "new" room with some pink chiffon scraps from Hobby Lobby. I am slowly moving in her things and setting up the room for Lorelai to move into after Christmas. I don't want her to feel "kicked out" so I want to transition her before it gets too close to Adalaide's arrival. I am also starting Adalaide's baby blanket. Nothing too fancy, stripes, but with many different stitches to keep track off.
Tomorrow we have someone coming to connect our gas logs up in our fireplace...it's only been a year. I look forward to it, and hope nothing goes wrong. This house has a way of tricking us with its perceived easiness...then it evolves into a mess. Fingers crossed.
We then have my sister-in-law's birthday next week (Happy Birthday Katya!), then Thanksgiving, another Dr. appt for me, then Lorelai's birthday, then a Dr. appt for her...then we should just have to worry about Christmas festivities; which I love ♥
Hope everyone else stays healthy and has a pleasant next couple of weeks!
M.LEWIS
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