They say "everything is bigger in Texas".... Well, 'they' weren't kidding! When we bought our home in Texas I was shocked at what I would be able to call home! I'm not kidding, at 22 I found myself on my new back patio staring at my new lawn thinking... in this exact vernacular, "Omigosh, Oh MY GOSH, seriously... I'm not supposed to have a house like this... my parents have a house like this... PARENTS!"
Over the course of 5 years, we grew quite comfortably in that house, welcoming Caleb and then Logan, spreading out... a place for everything and everything in its place. We were the epitome of suburbia... living in a neighborhood that had a name plate out front... neighborhood pools, block parties, and SUV's... the whole shabang.
When looking for housing in the DC area we decided early on that we'd sacrifice square footage for location, desiring to be closer to the action and knowing we'd only be out a year lease if we hated it. Our house hunting trip confirmed location would require just that... SACRIFICE... or so I thought.
I cringed internally and externally when we agreed the condo in Belle Haven, coming in at 768 square feet, just about 1/3 of the size we'd grown accustomed to, was our new home to be... So much so that when people asked about the size.... "It's a little under 1000 square feet" I would say... let their imagination come up with just HOW far under.
Well, now 7 weeks into our adventure, below are the list of Pro's and Con's of being "The woman who lived in a Shoe... box"
Pro: At any point in time I can hear every member of my family
Con: At any point in time I can hear every member of my family
Pro: I can clean my entire house in about an hour
Con: A tornado (AKA a 2 year old) can destroy it in 5 minutes
Pro: We cleaned house literally/figuratively shedding the unnecessary and raking in some dough at our garage trail.
Con: In 768 sq feet, even the 'necessary' is TOO much stuff!
Pro: Our King Size Bed/Frame FIT!!! Hip Hip Hooray
Con: Our bed room doubles as my 'home office'
Pro: That King Size bed makes for a VERY comfortable 'cube' some days!
Pro: There is only one bathroom to clean... and I HATE cleaning bathrooms
Con: There is only one bathroom
Pro: No stairs with which to worry about as Logan learns how to crawl
Con: Boys sharing a room = difficulty in working the 'cry it out' method to get Logan sleeping through the night. **Solution** Logan's now in a pack n' play in the kitchen at night :)
I'm sure I'll discover many more as the weeks turn into months, but thus far the sacrifice for location was definitely the way to go! The neighborhood is FANTASTIC, with so much right outside our door who would ever want to stay inside!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Big City Parking... Not for the faint of heart!
I've always loved the Jeff Foxworthy's comments about "You know you've lived in Michigan when...."
- When you don't think twice about pointing to a place on your hand when explaining where you grew up, went to school, currently reside, etc..
- When you install security lights on your home and garage, and proceed to leave both unlocked.
- When you know people that have hit more than one deer with their car, in one season.
These comments and more, have always made me laugh because they ring true... I still point to my hand when explaining where I grew up. However having moved to Texas, and subsequently to the burbs of Washington D.C, I have a new found appreciation for the oddities locals consider commonplace.
For example....
"If you've ever gotten truly LOST in a parking garage, you might live near Washington D.C."
I have a new found... and very PROFOUND, respect for this adage. Yes, I made it up... I'm thinking about sending it to Jeff Foxworthy for any future comedy tours he may make! Either that or penning a manuscript and sending it to the writers for LOST to see if they have any interest in a new pilot T.V. show...
We've lived here for just about 6 weeks now, and this past Thursday was my first weekday, peak hour, adventure out of the house for a lunch meeting with a few local Dell employees that also work remote in the region. I was excited. I was looking cute, and made sure I left myself enough time (or so I thought) to make it to the restaurant. Upon making it downtown, I quickly realized the magnitude of the blessing it is to work from home... Every parking meter for 2 miles was occupied, and in my quest to look cute, the heels I was wearing didn't feel up to a hike! I rolled my eyes and decided I would pay the high cost of the parking garage for the 'simplicity & proximity' to my destination.
I have never been more wrong in my life!
I got my ticket and rolled into the garage... made the first turn, and the garage extended as far as the eye could see. I went a few rows down and made a turn, after all I wanted to stay close to the entrance so I could get back to the restaurant.
No spots.... another turn... no spots... 5 more turns... still no spots...
I see someone walking to their car... roll my window down, "Are you close?"... "yes just one row over" was their replay, I look around... all ONEWAY's, think briefly about ignoring the sign, until a car comes speeding out of nowhere, and I realize I will likely cause an accident by doing so.
After a few more turns I find my spot, park, and scurry off to lunch, not really giving it much of a second thought. I know now, that I should have been dropping bread crumbs the entire way!
I make it back to the car and begin making turns to follow the exit signs... Little did I know there were 3 different types of exits: Owners exits (for those who have purchased spots), Permit exits for govt. employees, and the Public exit where you can pay for your ticket and leave. I came upon my first exit, and had to annoy the two cars behind me forcing everyone to back up and let me turn around as I didn't have a permit and the barricade would not lift for me.
- When you don't think twice about pointing to a place on your hand when explaining where you grew up, went to school, currently reside, etc..
- When you install security lights on your home and garage, and proceed to leave both unlocked.
- When you know people that have hit more than one deer with their car, in one season.
These comments and more, have always made me laugh because they ring true... I still point to my hand when explaining where I grew up. However having moved to Texas, and subsequently to the burbs of Washington D.C, I have a new found appreciation for the oddities locals consider commonplace.
For example....
"If you've ever gotten truly LOST in a parking garage, you might live near Washington D.C."
I have a new found... and very PROFOUND, respect for this adage. Yes, I made it up... I'm thinking about sending it to Jeff Foxworthy for any future comedy tours he may make! Either that or penning a manuscript and sending it to the writers for LOST to see if they have any interest in a new pilot T.V. show...
We've lived here for just about 6 weeks now, and this past Thursday was my first weekday, peak hour, adventure out of the house for a lunch meeting with a few local Dell employees that also work remote in the region. I was excited. I was looking cute, and made sure I left myself enough time (or so I thought) to make it to the restaurant. Upon making it downtown, I quickly realized the magnitude of the blessing it is to work from home... Every parking meter for 2 miles was occupied, and in my quest to look cute, the heels I was wearing didn't feel up to a hike! I rolled my eyes and decided I would pay the high cost of the parking garage for the 'simplicity & proximity' to my destination.
I have never been more wrong in my life!
I got my ticket and rolled into the garage... made the first turn, and the garage extended as far as the eye could see. I went a few rows down and made a turn, after all I wanted to stay close to the entrance so I could get back to the restaurant.
No spots.... another turn... no spots... 5 more turns... still no spots...
I see someone walking to their car... roll my window down, "Are you close?"... "yes just one row over" was their replay, I look around... all ONEWAY's, think briefly about ignoring the sign, until a car comes speeding out of nowhere, and I realize I will likely cause an accident by doing so.
After a few more turns I find my spot, park, and scurry off to lunch, not really giving it much of a second thought. I know now, that I should have been dropping bread crumbs the entire way!
I make it back to the car and begin making turns to follow the exit signs... Little did I know there were 3 different types of exits: Owners exits (for those who have purchased spots), Permit exits for govt. employees, and the Public exit where you can pay for your ticket and leave. I came upon my first exit, and had to annoy the two cars behind me forcing everyone to back up and let me turn around as I didn't have a permit and the barricade would not lift for me.
20 minutes later, I am still stuck in this parking garage.
Up until that point I had never considered myself a claustrophobic, however sitting in my Cx7 with the roof of the garage mere inches above my car, and cement pylons all around me, and I've neglected to mention up until this point, that the garage is UNDERGROUND... yeah my anxiety levels started rising quickly. It didn't help matters that other cars seemed to zip to/fro and my first attempt at trying to follow one of these 'veterans' of the underground maze only resulted in my delving further into the belly of the beast, which I didn't realize until they nestled their vehicle into their designated parking space and went blithely on their way.
The anxiety ratcheted up about 10 notches when I thought about calling Kevin, just for moral support, and realized the thousands of tons of cement around me would prevent any attempt to contact the outside world... This was about the time I put my car in park in the middle of the garage and started freaking out for a bit.
I pulled myself together and vowed to find ANY exit by following the signs, and if it happened to be a permit or owner exit, well I would wait for someone to leave, explain my plight, and plead if necessary for them to help me exit. Luckily I stumbled upon the correct exit about 10 minutes later, and began talking to the parking attendant as if she was the first person I'd seen in days! She politely explained that it was not an uncommon experience as this particular garage I had chosen was 3 stories under ground and spanned 4 city blocks. FOUR CITY BLOCKS!!!
I've made a mental note, NEVER to return to that garage for ANY reason, and am now even more thankful to be sitting comfortably at my 'home' office enjoying my lunch anxiety free in my yoga pants and a comfy tee!
Up until that point I had never considered myself a claustrophobic, however sitting in my Cx7 with the roof of the garage mere inches above my car, and cement pylons all around me, and I've neglected to mention up until this point, that the garage is UNDERGROUND... yeah my anxiety levels started rising quickly. It didn't help matters that other cars seemed to zip to/fro and my first attempt at trying to follow one of these 'veterans' of the underground maze only resulted in my delving further into the belly of the beast, which I didn't realize until they nestled their vehicle into their designated parking space and went blithely on their way.
The anxiety ratcheted up about 10 notches when I thought about calling Kevin, just for moral support, and realized the thousands of tons of cement around me would prevent any attempt to contact the outside world... This was about the time I put my car in park in the middle of the garage and started freaking out for a bit.
I pulled myself together and vowed to find ANY exit by following the signs, and if it happened to be a permit or owner exit, well I would wait for someone to leave, explain my plight, and plead if necessary for them to help me exit. Luckily I stumbled upon the correct exit about 10 minutes later, and began talking to the parking attendant as if she was the first person I'd seen in days! She politely explained that it was not an uncommon experience as this particular garage I had chosen was 3 stories under ground and spanned 4 city blocks. FOUR CITY BLOCKS!!!
I've made a mental note, NEVER to return to that garage for ANY reason, and am now even more thankful to be sitting comfortably at my 'home' office enjoying my lunch anxiety free in my yoga pants and a comfy tee!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
2 Year Old's Guide to Smiling....
We worked on teaching Caleb how to 'smile' for the camera this weekend.
We started with a smirk...
Asked him if he could show us his teeth...
and ended up losing his eyes....
When we asked him to show us his teeth and keep his eyes open we got...
Finally we were able to pull it all together :)
All the while he was consoling bear in his sling, and continuing to tell us "Shhhhh... bear is sleeping".
We started with a smirk...
Asked him if he could show us his teeth...
and ended up losing his eyes....
When we asked him to show us his teeth and keep his eyes open we got...
Finally we were able to pull it all together :)
All the while he was consoling bear in his sling, and continuing to tell us "Shhhhh... bear is sleeping".
Friday, October 1, 2010
Adventures in Pumping
**Disclaimer** This blog may contain a little too much TMI for any male readers I may have... Dad this means you... however it is WAY too funny not to share, so read on at your own risk and don't say I didn't warn you!***
I'm a proponent for breast feeding. I agree with all the nutritional benefits it stands to impart upon my child, I think the bond developed during that time of feeding is priceless, and..... Oh who am I kidding... I'm cheap and lazy! When I found out it cost ~$30 for a container of formula, which might last 2 weeks TOPS, and then having to wake in the middle of the night to mix and heat formula, and remember to tote it around with me whenever we went out??? No thanks!
I didn't realize, until registering for baby material while pregnant with Caleb, that my alternative to the $30 Formula containers would manifest itself in a $300+ Breast pump... Can we say EXTORTION!!!! The money miser within almost balked completely and walked away saying the girls would just have to do their thing, I didn't need any outside assistance... however the realization that a 3 month maternity leave would come to an end and the girls would have to return to work with me, left little wiggle room. I took solace in justifying that $300 amortized over multiple children resulted in pennies on the dollar and the ends justified the means.
That was until this past week....
I've always taken pride in being somewhat of a dairy farm, I had more than enough to feed my little man, and could even ship some off to premie's in need. I'd navigated through 4 turns with mastitis, all in the name of better nutrition, so I was more than a little concerned when my 'supply' began to dwindle with Logan only rounding the 4 month mark. It was taking WAY longer than normal to even get a couple ounces produced via the trusty pump, and we were going through my 'reserves' at an alarming rate.
Last night Kevin volunteered to disassemble my pump in an effort to return it to its original glory, because remember, we are far to cheap to toss the towel in without a fight and ante up for a new one. Upon further inspection a critical piece used to create the suction had perforated, thus resulting in a weak seal, and poor production... YAY Problem solved!!! Not quite, the pump still didn't work after our spit and shoe string attempt at fixing it. What to do.... You other mom's out there realize the predicament I was faced with... a couple of days of reduced production and your body starts throwing in the towel for you and after that, there's little hope for recovery... We had to act fast... So what did we do???
I've heard stories of the husbands that take one for the team and step up to the task, but the mental image of that alone for me was a bit much, that was a line I couldn't cross. We did however come up with our own hybrid version! Against my better judgment, I need to create a visual for you... the pump parts are funnel in nature, they connect to a bottle, and long tubes attach to the pump that creates the suction necessary to produce... Well we'd already determined the suction had been compromised, so in an experimental effort, Kevin took the end of one of the hoses that had been attached to the pump, placed the end in his mouth, and inhaled deeply....
"YOWSA" I exclaimed when I realized what had happened, glanced down, and was awe inspired when I realized it was working! He took the second hose and tried for 2 at a time... Success! Then he handed me one of the tubes and said "get to work", while he manned the other. I thought it was hysterical... sitting there watching Grey's Anatomy, both sucking through a long hose to essentially siphon out the "boobie juice" (as we refer to it around here), through the funnel provided and into the bottles, all without ever having to touch the stuff! I was getting a little cocky in our new found invention and challenged him to a race to see who could fill up their bottle first (there really is something wrong in my head)... All was going well, until I lost my focus during a great scene of Grey's, somehow miss handled the equipment (that we were obviously using for the intended purpose), and didn't notice the the hose was no longer siphoning correctly and took a big gulp of... you guessed it .... ACK!!!!!
Up to that point, I had never, would never, never crossed my mind, to try the stuff... There was no curiosity as to what I was feeding my children. I was, and still firmly remain, in the camp of individuals that am equally amazed and grossed out by the fact my body can nourish my child. Thank you God for feeding my baby, now pass me my PASTURIZED 2% and plate 'o Oreo's please!
The milk mishap was the divine intervention the money miser mini me :) needed to concede Mama's mouth is not the mechanics intended for creating suction, and motivated me to find the fix or ante up for the new pump! Chalk one up for the good guys, this Milk Mystery is solved!
I'm a proponent for breast feeding. I agree with all the nutritional benefits it stands to impart upon my child, I think the bond developed during that time of feeding is priceless, and..... Oh who am I kidding... I'm cheap and lazy! When I found out it cost ~$30 for a container of formula, which might last 2 weeks TOPS, and then having to wake in the middle of the night to mix and heat formula, and remember to tote it around with me whenever we went out??? No thanks!
I didn't realize, until registering for baby material while pregnant with Caleb, that my alternative to the $30 Formula containers would manifest itself in a $300+ Breast pump... Can we say EXTORTION!!!! The money miser within almost balked completely and walked away saying the girls would just have to do their thing, I didn't need any outside assistance... however the realization that a 3 month maternity leave would come to an end and the girls would have to return to work with me, left little wiggle room. I took solace in justifying that $300 amortized over multiple children resulted in pennies on the dollar and the ends justified the means.
That was until this past week....
I've always taken pride in being somewhat of a dairy farm, I had more than enough to feed my little man, and could even ship some off to premie's in need. I'd navigated through 4 turns with mastitis, all in the name of better nutrition, so I was more than a little concerned when my 'supply' began to dwindle with Logan only rounding the 4 month mark. It was taking WAY longer than normal to even get a couple ounces produced via the trusty pump, and we were going through my 'reserves' at an alarming rate.
Last night Kevin volunteered to disassemble my pump in an effort to return it to its original glory, because remember, we are far to cheap to toss the towel in without a fight and ante up for a new one. Upon further inspection a critical piece used to create the suction had perforated, thus resulting in a weak seal, and poor production... YAY Problem solved!!! Not quite, the pump still didn't work after our spit and shoe string attempt at fixing it. What to do.... You other mom's out there realize the predicament I was faced with... a couple of days of reduced production and your body starts throwing in the towel for you and after that, there's little hope for recovery... We had to act fast... So what did we do???
I've heard stories of the husbands that take one for the team and step up to the task, but the mental image of that alone for me was a bit much, that was a line I couldn't cross. We did however come up with our own hybrid version! Against my better judgment, I need to create a visual for you... the pump parts are funnel in nature, they connect to a bottle, and long tubes attach to the pump that creates the suction necessary to produce... Well we'd already determined the suction had been compromised, so in an experimental effort, Kevin took the end of one of the hoses that had been attached to the pump, placed the end in his mouth, and inhaled deeply....
"YOWSA" I exclaimed when I realized what had happened, glanced down, and was awe inspired when I realized it was working! He took the second hose and tried for 2 at a time... Success! Then he handed me one of the tubes and said "get to work", while he manned the other. I thought it was hysterical... sitting there watching Grey's Anatomy, both sucking through a long hose to essentially siphon out the "boobie juice" (as we refer to it around here), through the funnel provided and into the bottles, all without ever having to touch the stuff! I was getting a little cocky in our new found invention and challenged him to a race to see who could fill up their bottle first (there really is something wrong in my head)... All was going well, until I lost my focus during a great scene of Grey's, somehow miss handled the equipment (that we were obviously using for the intended purpose), and didn't notice the the hose was no longer siphoning correctly and took a big gulp of... you guessed it .... ACK!!!!!
Up to that point, I had never, would never, never crossed my mind, to try the stuff... There was no curiosity as to what I was feeding my children. I was, and still firmly remain, in the camp of individuals that am equally amazed and grossed out by the fact my body can nourish my child. Thank you God for feeding my baby, now pass me my PASTURIZED 2% and plate 'o Oreo's please!
The milk mishap was the divine intervention the money miser mini me :) needed to concede Mama's mouth is not the mechanics intended for creating suction, and motivated me to find the fix or ante up for the new pump! Chalk one up for the good guys, this Milk Mystery is solved!
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