They Say It's Your Birthday.....

Today is a special day.... it's my husband's 30th birthday!

I wanted to take a picture of the kids together so I could make a birthday card for my hubby.  In my mind I had this ideal image of my kids sitting calmly (but of course super cutely) next to each other while each holding one end of a sign that read "Happy Birthday Daddy!"

A girl can dream, right?


A sampling of our mini photo shoot:





I promise she's not choking him

Really?

aww, look at those cute little baby feet!

Notice that I didn't even attempt the cute little sign idea.  I couldn't even get them to sit still long enough to take a halfway decent picture.
What you can't see is that everytime I sat them next to each other, they would both start laughing instantly.  It's like they were plotting against me!



Finally, after what I think was picture 536472 of the photo shoot, I got this:


Happy Birthday Daddy!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband, my best friend, and the most amazing father to our kids.
I couldn't even dream of walking this journey without you.  YOU keep me balanced in this crazy, wonderful life...even on the days I might suggest otherwise ;)

Here's hoping the next year brings you even more joy than the 30 before it.



It's a Date

My husband and I recognize the importance of going on dates together, even though we have 2 little ones at home.  But because those little ones don't quite know how to sleep in (well, actually my son doesn't quite know how to sleep AT ALL) we try to have date days instead of date nights.

This way we aren't out late, only to be woken up at the nice early hour of say, 5:30am, by our sweet children.  And as an added bonus, the kids get some quality time with their grandparents!

We tend to steer away from traditional “dinner and a movie” dates, so this past Saturday we took at trip to Over-the-Rhine (OTR) in Cincinnati.  Not exactly a hot spot for a date in Cincinnati...but it was for us!

We finally experienced Findlay Market and then took a walking tour, sponsored by the OTR Brewery District.

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to visit Findlay Market.  It was so much fun!

There is an unbelievable amount of fresh food to choose from and so much fun variety!

Since we were going to be doing the walking tour right from the market, we had only brought a small cooler to store some food.  We didn't load up on the produce like I would have liked, but we definitely plan on heading back down soon!

At one of the entrances of the market, there is the Over-the-Rhine Biergarten at Findlay Market.  After we strolled through the market, drooling just about every step of the way at the amazing selection of food, we sat down to eat and have a beer before the tour started.



(Beer and Fudge, what could be better?!)



Our tour guide was so informational and you could tell he loved what he was doing.  While the tour was focused around beer brewing and the impact beer making had on  the city, there was a lot of historical information about the OTR area, then and now.  It was such a sad statistic to learn that an area that was once the home to over 44,000 people now cites a population of only around 8,000.  This in turn means that over 70% of the buildings in OTR and vacant.  Due to the sad state of the buildings (and the area in general), real estate is beyond cheap.  I think my husband was ready to call a realtor before we were even finished with the tour (but with 2 kids and a limited budget, I was able to remind him that we don't exactly have the time or finances for a complete building renovation right now)!

We were able to walk through some of the old vacant brew houses.  This one was in process (actually, halted) renovation to be turned into condos. 



Original conveyor system...how cool!



Do you know what this is growing on the side of this building? 

Hops!  (Who's ready to make beer?!)

Luckily we got a break from the heat and traveled into the old lagering cellars that are carved into the hillside!  It was dark, wet, and cool...and quite amazing.

 2.5 hours after we started our tour, we concluded our walk back at Findlay Market...time for another beer!

My husband and I had a great time on our date day.   We even finished early enough to eat dinner with the kids before it was off to bed (for everyone...including us!)

We definitely enjoyed our time visiting new places in the city, learning a little history, and of course, spending some quality time together!

Do you take the time to "date"?

What fun things do you do for dates, that are different than the standard dinner and a movie?

Where did the last 10 months go?

I can't believe it.

My baby boy is 10 months old today. 

10 months in the blink of an eye.

At 10 months old, my sweet boy:

• has his 2 bottom teeth, and is working hard on a top one (I'm sure it will be weeks before we see it pop through!)
• Climbs the stairs
• (almost) ALWAYS has a smile on his face
• Cruises around ALL of the furniture
• Will walk by pushing anything that will move with him (but is not walking on his own...and I'm not pushing it!)
• Love to get into anything mama says he shouldn't (you know: trash cans, dog food, electrical cords)
• Doesn't sleep more than a few hours at a time (including both naps AND the middle of the night!)
• LOVES his big sister
• Brings so, so, much joy to our family

These past 10 months have certainly been a whirlwind.  Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the mundane daily "stuff" and forget to take time to appreciate what's really important.

As the saying goes:

"The days are long but the years are short".

And some days certainly feel very, very long....

But, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  Anything.

The Cleaning Lady

After I was married, but before I had kids, quite a few of my co-workers had a cleaning person come to their home.  For some it was weekly, others it was every other week.

I could not  fathom the idea of paying someone else to clean my house. Frugal me couldn't imagine the added expense.

My other thought?

"Are you that lazy that you need someone to come clean your house?"

　

I now have a cleaning lady.

　

She does the basics like sweeping, mopping, dusting and the ever dreadful task of cleaning the bathrooms (showers included). And of course, I pay for this service.

Me, one of the most frugal people in my group of friends, and I'm the one with the cleaning lady.

Last summer, while about 6 months pregnant with 20 month old running around, I just could not seem to keep up with the housework. Well, not without feeling stressed about it.

I had switched jobs a few months prior, and with the raise in salary, I could then sort-of justify hiring a cleaning person. Sort-of. I was so tired though, entering my third trimester of pregnancy and keeping up with a toddler was just exhausting! So, I bit the bullet and did it.

Not all of the cleaning is done exactly how I would have do it, but admittedly, I also have some control issues.

But let's be honest. After working all day, making dinner, putting the kids to bed, doing the dishes, packing lunch for the next day, and throwing in a load of laundry, the last thing I want to do is clean the bathroom before I go to bed. And those Saturday morning hours of cleaning just aren't happening with 2 kids running (or crawling) around.

Now that my baby boy is 10 months old, and doesn't need me holding him or feeding him every second of the day, I have a little bit  more breathing room in my day. Not much though.

As I look at the budget and where to trim next, I really contemplate cutting out the cleaning lady.

Can I really give it up?

Do I really want to add the stress of needing to vacuum, dust, mop, bathroom duty, etc to my weekly routine?

How will I fit it all in?

I've thought about a "Chore Chart" but specifically for cleaning. Almost like a checklist of each specific duty that needs to be accomplished each week. Like cleaning the 2nd floor bathroom would be a separate item than cleaning the 1st floor bathroom. When I break it into smaller actions, it seems more manageable.

Then I think - "Is it crazy for an almost 30 year old woman to have a Chore Chart"?!

I guess not if it helps get the job done.

How do you manage the cleaning in your household?

What tricks, ideas, or tools do you use to make it easier?

　

　

　

The Balanced Equation of Life

While I'm a little removed from the engineering trade, I'm still an engineer at heart.  I like to figure out how to make all of the puzzle pieces fit together.  And it's even better if calculations are involved (I love numbers). I mean, who doesn't love balancing equations?!

Do you ever feel like LIFE is just one big equation that you are trying to balance? Only, each day, a new piece of information gets added to make the equation that much more difficult. Add kids to the mix, and it's an infinite number of unknown variables. Just when you think you have it figured out, something else gets thrown at you and you start all over again.

That's where I am. Just when I start to feel like I have life under control, something changes, and it's all off balance again. Funny thing though; even though life might seem  like a perfect balancing equation...everyone will come up with a different answer. And no two equations are written exactly the same, even if they appear that way on the surface.

Because everyone is different. What works for me, and keeps me balanced and sane, doesn't work for my friends, my neighbors, even my siblings. Only, I still don't know exactly what I need to stay balanced. Each day is a learning process and brings more clarity to the equation (or sometimes more confusion).

To help gain more clarity on this crazy balancing act, I decided I needed a place to centralize my thoughts. So, here I am!

In the process of my sharing of general thoughts and ideas, I hope that I can help you see things from a new perspective and help you gain better balance, too.

I'm hoping that we can learn--together.