We are with my family in Alabama and I feel like a young child all over again; I can’t wait for Santa to arrive! I can’t believe that I’m in charge of the Christmas memories for my own little girl, now. This is so awesome!
I want to wish all of my readers , “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” Be sure to get in a reading of The Night Before Christmas! 🙂
Tim and I met when we were freshmen in college. We were part of the same service-based scholarship program. During our first week in the program, we had a pool party with some local children who rarely (if ever) got to go to a pool. Most of them didn’t know how to swim. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t ready to get wet!
That day, Tim saved a 5 or 6 year old boy who jumped into the deep end. When he jumped, his life vest came right off. The lifeguard on duty happened to be screening the shallow end at the moment it happened. You can imagine what a crazy/scary moment this was, but Tim was a complete sea of calm and just got into the pool in the blink of an eye and came back out with this child, who was scared, but ok. After he got the child back to his mother, he came right back over the the picnic table where he was before the incident, sat back down, and resumed eating his meal. He felt no need to re-hash the experience or in any way to brag. I remember saying to him, “Um, I think you just saved a little boy’s life.” His response was a simple shrug. His humility completely amazed me.
Tim and I often joke about what the moment was for each of us when we knew we had found our life partner. I have a thousand of those moments, but that was the very first one. I don’t remember specifically thinking, “I will marry this guy,” but I do remember thinking that I MUST get to know him. And so I did.
I have 12 years of stories about how amazing Tim is, and I’ll save some of those for another time. But what I want to say now is that Tim continues to amaze me with his grace under fire and his humble but life-saving gifts to me and Darah (for example: last night he got up with Darah no less than 7 times, and he’s going to work today). He is one of the most selfless people I know, and I’m so grateful to have him in my life.
Ok, folks, my holiday giveaways are winding down. I’ve got 5 left. They all rock. They all have fewer entries than they should. This is good news for my subscribers! Get those entries in now and you just might win a ‘lil something!
Ozone designer socks (ends 12/21)
AboutOne digital organization system (5 winners!!!) (ends 12/23) You may not realize that you want this, but trust me, you do!
$25 to My Baby Clothes Boutique (ends 12/24)
Board Book Photo Album (ends 12/26)
Skoy cloth reusable cloths (ends 12/27)
This year my family made some pretty huge life changes. I realized that I didn’t want to be away from Darah so much, we realized that we really weren’t happy living in Memphis and we decided to take a new job opportunity for Tim in a city neither one of us had ever even visited before this year. The cost of this decision was a high one, moving from two incomes to one and leaving a house that continues to sit on the market in Memphis. It has been for sale for 5 months and I believe only 4 different people have even come to see it. Oy… I have mentioned before how tight money is around here. Tight is really a bit of an understatement.
And yet, in some ways, I feel as though I won the lottery.
When we talk about winning the lottery and what we would do with the money, we see that money as a tool to enable us to have the kind of life we dream of. I honestly don’t dream of having a mansion. We used to live in a 2,100 square foot house with just the three of us, and is was WAY too big, and took FOREVER to clean. The thought of 5,000 square feet is seriously just unappealing, people.
Yes, of course I would indulge myself in some nice things (quality furniture, extended vacations, lengthy trips to see family) but what we would really try to get for ourselves is more time with each other.
And my friends, we already are getting lots of that! We chose to live super close to Tim’s job, which means his commute is 5 minutes by bike. He’s home every single day for lunch. He also has the type of job where he is not expected to come in early or stay late. We chose a neighborhood that is walkable and a city that is overflowing with free or cheap activities that are so much fun. We are getting much of that quality time that we long for and that we previously thought we’d have to be independently wealthy to obtain.
Kind of ironic, isn’t it, that at a time when money is so tight, we are so richly blessed in the ways that matter the very most? I’m so grateful!
It’s now just 7 days until Christmas. I’m going to be taking a break from the reviews and giveaways until December 26th, when we’ll get started again. I thought I’d take this time to turn my own focus away from “stuff” and write some different material. I didn’t write about the things I’m thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving (wish I had!), so I think I’ll take this week to write a bit about my gratitude for all the gifts I have been given, particularly this past year.
As I look back on this year, wow has it been an adventure! Today I want to tell you how grateful I am for my readers. You are the inspiration behind the writing I do, and I’m so thankful for all of the growth this blog has seen this past year. The more, the merrier!
I’m so glad I changed the way I do my contest entries, as I’m getting to know you better, and have had some really wonderful conversations with many of you because of that change. You are an amazing group and I’m honored that you take the time out of your busy days to hang out with me for a few minutes. If you have been lurking, please don’t be shy! Step out and say hi; I’d so very much love to hear from you!
Blogs are amazing tools, put to their best use when they foster relationships and form communities. Thank you, to each and every one of you, for being part of this community!
What are you feeling grateful for today?
Reusable Paper Towel: Skoy ClothYou probably already know that we rarely use paper towels in my home. I still think they have their place (cat hairballs, anyone?), but overall, I really don’t miss them. The few times each year that I actually purchase a roll of paper towels, I always cringe. Even though I use them only when I feel it is necessary, it still feels like such a waste of money and resources.
We’ve been using the same set of reusable cloths for over a year now. Many of them are still going strong, but a few of them are ready to be replaced. I’ve heard talk on the blogosphere about the crazy awesome Skoy Cloth
Win it! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag a 4 pack of SKOY cloths that I have on hand to give away. Woo hoo! The contest will run until 11:59pm EST on December 27th when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.
Mandatory entry: Tell me your approach to cleaning up messes. Paper towels all the way? Only cloth? A hybrid? If you use paper towels, why (and that is not a loaded/judging question, promise!)?
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Skoy on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure. This post contains an affiliate link.
You may recall that a few weeks back I told you that were were getting a new carrier. Some of you may be scratching you head, thinking, “I know your child is no longer an infant, so why would you need a carrier?” My friends, we have a child who loves to be held, especially by her beloved daddy. When she fit in her Baby Bjorn, she was at her happiest in that thing! There are carriers that are made to carry toddlers, we just didn’t have the good fortune to own one.
Until now! And where did we get it? That fabulous place we all know and love:CSN Stores. If you aren’t familiar with CSN Stores, oh my word are you in for a treat. This is a collection of over 200 stores in the CSN family, and they sell, well, just about everything you can think of that you might need or want in your home, including furniture, decor, clothes, toys and yes, even baby carriers. I was more familiar with their toys and their furniture from my previous shopping experiences with CSN Stores, and was surprised to find an impressive selection of some of the top carriers out there.
We diligently did out homework, and thought we wanted to get an ERGObaby carrier, since they get such rave reviews. Unfortunately, CSN was out of the ERGOS when we went to make our purchase. We thought about waiting until they came back in stock (you can sign up for email notification when a product you want is re-stocked), but then went back and did a bit more research on another brand I had heard was excellent: Boba
Bottom line, I think we would have been extremely happy with the ERGObaby. But I can also tell you that we are thrilled with our Boba! CSN Stores had a nice selection of colors from which to choose, and we went with the Dusk carrier
CSN Stores offers free shipping on all of its Boba carriers, and you are notified when your package is sent out and can track it. While it would have been great if they could have had our first choice in stock, I’m so pleased that they also carried another brand that moms and dads seem to like just as well. I don’t think we compromised one bit when choosing our carrier, in the end!
Do you use a carrier? Do you have a favorite brand?
Disclosure: CSN Stores provided me with a $75 gift certificate in exchange for my honest review about shopping with them. I paid the difference between what the certificated covered and what the carrier cost. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.
In the coming days you’ll be hearing a bit more from me about some of the crazy (but awesome) things that have happened in my life over the past year. It has certainly been a year of change!
As 2010 draws to a close, I’ve been giving some thought to what might be in store for us in 2011. I think next year will be a time when we are going to focus a bit more on improving our financial situation, and making some great strides with our debt reduction. We are fortunate to not have any credit card debt, but I still have some pretty significant school loans, and we still owe about $1,800 on our car. Oh yeah, and then there’s that insane mortgage we are paying for an empty house back in Memphis.
But seriously, I don’t feel all that down about it! I mean, I could easily choose to do so, but instead, I’m choosing to look for the opportunities that are coming right along with the hardships! Specifically, 2011 is going to be a year when Tim and I are both going to earn more money through work online, and we are super excited about that.
Is Stuff Parents Need part of this plan? Absolutely! Is it the only part of the plan? Not by a long shot! We are working on creating a very intentional plan, with goals for every single month (goals that can be revised, as needed). We are going to be trying out lots of different ways to earn some money online while working smarter. Yes, we’ll also have to work harder, but we aren’t going to sell our time for just a few dollars per hour. We want the work we do to be reasonably compensated, and we also want it to actually matter.
Is this a tall order? Perhaps. But we’re going to make it happen. I’m going to just put our goal out there so that you can help hold us accountable: by the end of 2011, we hope to be bringing in $2,000/month with work we do online. I already teach a college course online, and that gets us about 1/3 of the way to our goal.
Do you think we can do it? Are you interested in being kept updated on our progress? Would you like me to share with you anytime I find a method that is actually working, as well as anytime when we explore something that doesn’t turn out to be fruitful?
I’m really excited about 2011. And I’m even more excited about the financial freedom we will be making strides toward this year. It’s going to be wonderful!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, clickhere.
About OWN: The New Oprah Winfrey Network New shows. New faces. New possibilities.
OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. During the OWN launch weekend, viewers will have the chance to see a little of everything OWN has to offer. OWN programming includes original series and specials, all focused on entertaining, informing and inspiring people to live their best lives.
I was sick for several weeks with Darah in the beginning, which was my only clue that there was, in fact, a little peanut growing in there. I remember the second trimester being relatively easy, though my belly did start to grow quite a bit (I’m only 5 feet tall…nowhere for a baby to go but out!). But during the second trimester, my belly felt quite cute to me. I could feel the baby fluttering about, and I’m pretty sure I had that pregnancy glow.
Then the third trimester came along. This is when the realities of parenting started to become apparent. I became really uncomfortable. I developed this horrible rash called PUPPS and my hips hurt tremendously as they were stretching themselves out in preparation for labor. I remember having the distinct feeling that my body was truly no longer mine. That was a hard moment for me, to realize this. But what could I do about it? Nothing, other than to press on and keep loving the little girl I was holding.
And then it was time for her to be born. I only did part of my labor naturally. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever been through. EVER. I had a doula and a loving husband right there beside me to help out, and thank goodness. I’m not sure that I could have been strong enough on my own, mentally, to believe that I could actually deliver a baby.
While I was fortunate enough to not need a C-Section, my body still suffered, as most women’s bodies do, from the experience of carrying a baby and then getting her out of your body. The body I had before is not one I will be able to return to. This is yet another sacrifice that had to be made in order to bring her into the world.
So after the baby I at least got my body back to myself, right? Um, no. We wanted to breastfeed. I think breastfeeding Darah is perhaps the second greatest gift I have ever given. It was not an easy task for us, as it turned out, and we were supplementing by 6 months. I was constantly hooked up to that breast pump and downing Fenugreek (which, by the way, makes you smell like maple syrup). We also battled a few rounds of thrush (3, I believe). But I know I gave her the very best start that I possibly could. What it required, though, is once again giving my body to someone else. While I was sad when Darah weaned herself at 10 1/2 months old, I was also relieved to get my body back after roughly 20 months of service to the baby. This was not something I had thought about at all before getting pregnant.
And I’m really glad I didn’t know about it. I suppose it is possible that if I had been able to get a true understanding of the sacrifices required to have a baby, I might have rethought it. I say that because I didn’t know that I had it within me to give at this level. Growing a child and then caring for a child really does force you to be a greater person than you ever dreamed you could be.
And so in the end, Darah has been a tremendous gift not only to others, but also to me. Jesus said that the last shall be first, and finally, as a mom, I totally get it.
