On My Mind March 25, 2014

It’s only Tuesday, but there is so much on my mind this week.  I thought I’d do a little brain dump for fun.  (Remember, it’s cathartic for me!)

• The Spring Real Estate season has started.  Oh my!  It’s already busy, and it will only get busier.  I’m trying so hard to find this work/life/family balance, but most realtors talk about just putting your head down and charging through the spring.  There’s time for balance in the summer!
• Guess what?  I still hate homework time.
• Cooper’s lacrosse season starts soon, and I can’t wait.  I think we have a lot riding on this – whether he’ll love it or hate it and whether we’ll meet new people and find some new friends.
• It’s Taco Tuesday at our house!  (We better watch out for President Business!)
• I love getting up every morning and watching The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon while I walk/run on the treadmill.  What better way to start a day than to be laughing and exercising?
• My Disney countdown app says only 5 days left until Disney Awesomeness!
• Jeremy and I haven’t been to a wedding since 2007, and this year we’ll be going to at least 2.  First one in New Orleans this weekend.  I. Can’t. Wait.
• Why do I feel so guilty taking a vacation?  Oh right – see the first bullet above.
• Mason got her haircut last week, and it was a bit shorter than she was expecting.  It was the first time I’ve had to console her about her hair before going to school.  I’m sure it won’t be the last.  (In my opinion, it looks great!)
• On the other hand, Cooper refuses to let us cut his bangs any shorter than to just below his eyebrows.  I guess he’s trying to get into the lacrosse guy frame of mind.
• Wasn’t the Spring Equinox last week? So why am I still cold?
• On the bright side, we have flowers blooming in our yard!

Hoping all my loyal readers are doing well. What’s going on with you?  Feel free to brain dump in the comments below.

 

Catch Up Through Instagram March 13, 2014

I’ve been pretty absent on this here blog the last few months.  I’m trying to get back into the swing of things – not only to keep up the “online journal” of our lives for those few family and friends that actually read this, but also because it’s really beneficial for me to write.  Sure, I could actually keep a real journal (and have one sitting in my nightstand ready for just that!), but I feel it would be a lot of negativity, which is probably why I haven’t started it.  This blog was started to embrace the positivity.

While I’ve been absent here, I have been steadily active on Instagram.  I love just using pictures to illustrate my life and all the good things in it.  So for those of you not on Instagram, here are some of my favorite pics from the past few months as a way to catch you up on what we’ve been up to here in Rhode Island.

 

I decided my closet was too full of stuff I never wore.  It nagged me every time I opened the doors.  So one day in February, I decided to start from scratch.  I pulled everything out of the closet (and I mean everything!) I got rid of anything that didn’t fit, was out of style, or was old and ragged.  I would say I got rid of a least 1/3 of this pile and tons of shoes!  Then I put what was left back, and it was so cathartic.  Now when I open my closet, I don’t feel stressed or worried that what I pick won’t look good.  What I have left is worth wearing.

 

We took a quick trip down to Maryland to celebrate Jeremy, Kristin and Papa’s birthdays.  Somehow I managed to persuade convince the gang to go to my favorite restaurant, Matchbox!  And Meema and Jerry even joined us.  It was a wonderful family lunch with delicious onion straws, pizza and sliders.  Yum!

 

Movies have been a big part of our long cold winter up here.  We saw Frozen twice, and I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD next week. (Thank you Amazon Pre-Order!)  But the real family favorite was The Lego Movie.  We also saw it twice – once with friends and then again in Maryland with the family.  Such a surprising ending that, of course, made me cry.  I’m such a sap.  “Everything is awesome!”

 

Jeremy has been wanting a “garret” in the garage since we moved in.  The rafters are so high that it feels like wasted space up there.  Since I couldn’t comfortably give him the green light for a play area in that space, he realized storage was his only hope.  We had to clean out the attic for new insulation to be put in, so we decided to put it all back in the garage instead along with our seasonal outdoor decor and patio furniture. The whole process took about 3 hours and $50.  Those are the kind of projects I like!

 

The kids had their Winter Break the week of President’s Day.  Thankfully Nana was able to come and watch the kids during the day while Jeremy and I worked.  Weather wasn’t great, and we had to take both cars to work most of the week, so the kids and Nana were stuck at home a lot.  To get us all out of the house and having fun, I took an afternoon off and enjoyed some Duckpin bowling with the kids.  The bowling alley we go to is so old school.  So old school, you keep score with paper and pencil.  So old school, there are only about 10 lanes.  So old school, it is simple, easy and fun!

This picture was taken in my favorite chair in my favorite room.  We have a corner of windows in our living room, and on sunny days, the chair in that corner gets so cozy and warm.  It was the perfect place to snuggle with Cooper for a little bit.  I am loving his age right now.  He is still a little lovey, but also maturing and growing and learning.  I wish he could stay like this forever.  I asked him if he could, but he said he has to get older every year on his birthday.  Bummer!

 

And just from today, here are the kids doing the tree pose before their yoga class.  They’ve been taking some enrichment classes before and after school this winter.  Yoga seems to be the favorite.  Mason is also taking hip hop, and they both take tennis.  Their last yoga class is next week, and I get to participate!  I’m excited to learn more and have a little “namaste” time together.

So there you have it.  My Instagram update!  I’ll try to do this more.  I love sharing our daily life pictures and also giving a little more background to the stories and memories built from these moments.  I hope you’re finding good in your days as well!  Feel free to share below.

 

State of Mind March 12, 2014

My heart broke a little last night at dinner.  We were having a quick dinner of hot dogs and leftover pulled pork sandwiches with chips and applesauce.  Certainly not a gourmet meal or even a very healthy one.  But Jeremy had a meeting to get to, the kids had had playdates in the afternoon, and it was just that kind of meal.  Mason turned to me and said, “I feel like we’re poor.”  I asked her what she meant.  She didn’t know – just felt poor.  I asked her, “Are we happy?”  She said yes.  I asked, “Are we together?”  She said yes.  I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “If we’re happy and we’re together as a family, then it doesn’t matter how much money we have.”

This is one of those times when I need to practice what I preach.  Real estate obviously has its up and downs financially throughout the year.  So Jeremy and I need to always be aware of budgets and what money comes in and goes out.  We’ve probably been more verbal about it to the kids than in the past – letting them know  when we can’t eat out as much or have to plan extraneous purchases.  We’ve been talking about it as a learning lesson mostly.   We want our kids to understand that money doesn’t grow on trees; that we have to work hard to earn the money we spend; that saving money for future needs is really important.  (I think financial responsibility has to start early – even with just a simple allowance and piggy bank.)  So while I know Mason understands that money is tight, I was really shocked that she thought we were poor.  It could be a sense of comparison – we do live in one of the wealthier towns in Rhode Island.  It could be seeing Mommy and Daddy stressed – as much as we try not to let that out to the kids.   Who knows where she got this feeling, but I want to do whatever I can to help her understand that money isn’t everything.

First I need to remind myself of the same thing.  Money IS NOT everything.  Sure it bought us a good house in a good neighborhood.  Sure it buys us our clothes to stay warm and food to stay nourished.  Sure it allows us to go on fun vacations every once in a while.  Sure it lets us treat ourselves at times.  We are extremely thankful for all of that!  But we can still be happy without a lot of money at our disposal.  I often feel poor financially due to the careers Jeremy and I chose, but I am rich in so many other areas of my life: my kids, my husband, my family, my friends afar and near…   We chose the jobs we have because we love them.  We chose them for quality of life, for more time with our family.  So I shouldn’t complain.  I should just remind myself of the riches I get from picking my kids up at the bus stop each day, from the people and experiences we have met through our careers, from the time we spend together as a family and the memories we make.  Wealth is a state of mind, and I am rich beyond my years!

The End Is Near March 11, 2014

Let’s hope the end of winter is near.  I’m not sure I can take much longer.  I loved this NPR article about the stages of winter.   We used to be so excited to see snow.  Especially in New England where we embrace the winter (or are at least trained to since it lasts so long!)  We started with eagerness and excitement when we saw the first flakes.

 

 

We were happy to go outside and play in the snow at first.  The kids begged to go sledding.  It wasn’t TOO cold to enjoy a little time out in the winter air.  All in all, it was actually fun.  The first snow days off from school are even exciting and welcomed parts of winter.  We watched movies, baked cookies (lots of cookies) and thought of it as quality family time.

 

 

After the first pleasant snows, it started to get really cold and nasty.  Playing outside was not even an option.  We were stuck inside with each other, and the fun of it had worn off.  The kids were going crazy on their snow days and dreaming of warmer weather.  I was going crazy too being at home so much.

 

It was a hibernating winter.  People stick to themselves, stay inside and don’t socialize much.  It’s a hard time, especially when you’re not even at work much.  Work is often a release for me because I’m in a different environment, talking to different people and breathing different air.  But when I couldn’t travel much due to snow days or bad weather, I didn’t get that release as much.  It made for long days, longer months.  I finally forced the kids and I to get out one day even though it was almost dark.  We needed to appreciate the snow again instead of hating it.  It was soft powder underneath all the ice!

 

 

Thankfully we had a break this past weekend.  50’s on Saturday.  So of course we had to get outside.  It’s odd riding bikes with snow around.  Or hitting the baseball around with down jackets on.  The kids even enjoyed some tennis in the driveway.  Much needed relief!

 

 

The forecast is showing 4-8 inches of snow expected for Thursday.  We’re going from the upper 50’s today to the 30’s on Thursday.  For some reason, I don’t mind it so much.   There is hope.  Lily of the Valley is blooming in my yard.  The big snow piles in parking lots are melting away slowly but surely.  Spring is a rebirth, and I know that as people, we’ll be having a rebirth ourselves – coming out of hibernation, showing more skin, socializing with neighbors.  We’ll be ready.  Spring may seem far away when snow is in the forecast, but no matter what, we’ll be ready.  The end of winter is near.  I can feel it.