Mistakes in Motherhood

I have delayed posting this announcement, because I was afraid it would not last, but as of January 26th, Sophia has slept in her big girl bed, and on January 30th, I moved her crib out of her room and into my room to slowly transition Liam into it. Major steps like that, deserve major rewards, and in Sophia’s case that meant new bedding! I ended up finding the set similar to what I wanted locally, but I looked online first.

Since Sophia is so tiny, she transitioned into a toddler bed, and it was so much fun looking at New Girl Crib and Toddler Bedding, there are so many adorable colors and designs out there! Because she is such a girly-girl, it is simple to find beautiful feminine bedding that would accentuate her bedroom so well.

Because her old bedding was so feminine, I ended up browsing for a new set for Liam, since I just cannot put him into her old set, which was a Dwell Studio bird print that was dusty pink. I would have loved to get him New Crib Sets by Kid Funktional. I especially love the Savana Rana frog set. I seriously considered choosing an aquatic theme of turtles and frogs for him. I ended up finding some of Matthew’s old bedding I had forgotten about that I got on clearance years ago, and purchased the coordinating crib skirt on eBay. I think if we were planning on him having his own bedroom I would have gone all out, but as it is, he is in our bed and by the time he transitions into either Sophia or Matthew’s room, he will be too old for a diaper stacker (which probably does not work well with cloth diapers anyways), or crib bumpers.

I do know we need to get her some window treatments soon. Her bedroom is so light during the day that she gets woken up bright and early by the sun, and in the summer her room is the hottest in the house, because her window gets no protection from trees like the other bedrooms do. I love the bright colors of the New College Window Treatments , which would coordinate so much better into a child’s room, and I especially love the black out feature, which would keep the room darker in the morning, and cooler in the afternoons. Now I just have to decide if I want to go with lime green, or purple, to go with her Tinkerbell themed room.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing | tags: House Stuff, Liam, Sophia, Sponsored. | #

Obviously it will come as no shock to you that we are in a “housing crisis” as a nation. Housing prices inflated, banks gave loans to almost anyone who wanted one, and then gravity took over and what goes up, must come down and down went the market. Some states are recovering faster than others, and some cities in those states are recovering even faster, like La Jolla, California.

Part of why Bobby accepted the hardship tour overseas is because of the chilly economic climate. We own a home in Colorado that we cannot sell, and because of a second mortgage on it, we owe more than it is currently worth. We have so far gotten lucky with great tenants, who’s lease won’t expire for another year, but I worry if they decide not to renew the lease, if we will be so lucky a second time. Part of our plan is to pay off the second mortgage with his overseas pay, so we can eventually sell. Unfortunately, websites like Zillow, do not have me too hopeful. Some websites however do suggest the market it starting to turn around, like this article on the Denver real estate market.

Part of the problem, is that we purchased our home with a zero down home loan and took out an equity loan, when our home was at its peak value. Now, even with the market starting to stabilize a bit more, we still have not built our equity back up. Once our second is paid off, we should at least be able to sell for what we owe. Next time, we will listen to Dave Ramsey’s advice and put at least 20% down on a 15 year loan and spend no more than 40% of our income on housing costs.

Until our Colorado home is paid off, we will not even consider buying a home here in Washington, which is so sad because I really loved the freedom of home ownership. I still have not hung any of my paintings in the house because it never has felt like a home.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing | tags: Finances, House Stuff, Sponsored. | #

A friend asked me the other day about Financial Peace University, the class Bobby and I took designed by Dave Ramsey. We learned a lot information, made a lot of changes, upped his live insurance, and got term life (not whole life, NEVER whole life) on me. It was pretty easy, but we are both young, and don’t smoke. What about those who are older though and looking for a senior life insurance policy?

But what about the senior who just doesn’t want to leave their family with burial costs? There is always the option of pricing final expense insurance rates, which would cover the cost of burial expenses alone. I imagine a policy like this would be good for the person who doesn’t want to pay for a full policy, has no joint debt, or is lacking assets and does not want their family to have to pay for their final expenses.

With so many great life insurance options, it does not make sense why so many families are left with a massive debt to cover the cost of burying their parent, or grandparent. Losing a loved one is difficult enough without having to leave your loved ones in debt.

(This post brought to you by your friends at http://www.burialinsurance.org)

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When I was a kid, my dad used to frequently take me cross-country skiing, and then when I was older on cross-country motorcycle trips. We also did a lot of canoeing, camping, and other outdoor activities. I often remember having cold hands and feet, especially in the early morning hours until it got warmer outside, or through activity. I would have loved to have hot hands Hand Warmers to slip into my gloves, or toe warmers to slip into my socks. Pair those with some funky synthetic socks (not cotton!) from Old Navy, put some quality wool socks over those, and in no time, I could have been comfortable and warm and ready to go, instead of sitting around the fire waiting to thaw out. Now that I a older, I don’t camp much, just because I don’t tolerate the cold anymore. My fingers easily turn sheet white, or sometimes blue, because of something called Raynaud’s phenomenon, which is just a fancy term for restricted blood flow to the finger tips. I would love some hand warmers to toss in my car until it is heated up and my fingers are awake again.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing | tags: A lot about nothing, Family, Me, Sponsored. | #

When the baby gets here we will need to do a transition of sorts. The seven of us will be living together in a four bedroom home and that means the baby will need to bunk up with someone when he/she is around 4-6 months old, before then, we have a co-sleeper in our room. By then we are hoping to have transitioned Sophia to a toddler bed, and then I can get the baby a lovely set of crib bedding to coordinate well enough in her room. However, I have never had a toddler sharing a room with a baby, so I am not sure if that will go over well. When we got Matthew’s bunk beds, which is kinda like a loft bed with a rolling shorter bed on wheels that can be moved, we toyed with the idea that they may eventually share the bed, with the “bottom bunk” in her room, and his loft bed in his room with a “play fort” of sorts underneath.

However, we may have to have Sophia and Matthew sharing a room for a year or so until the little one sleeps through a noisy sister in the room. I can imagine using so many different kinds of cute feminine kids beddingadorning the twin bed if she uses it, instead of transitioning to her toddler bed she inherited from Matthew. Excuse me while I hop up on this soap box, because I am about to sound like my mother.

Nothing grosses me out more than sleeping on a bed without a mattress pad. If you spend money on a mattress, get a quality mattress pad. Mattress pads are an inexpensive way to protect the bed from sweat, drool, and any other body fluids you encounter when you have kids (urine, vomit, etc). I don’t care how good you cleaned after Junior peed the bed, don’t expect that the next person is sleeping on a nasty mattress covered with only a thin layer of fabric, ewww. I will judge you if your beds lack mattress pads. And for kids, have several on hand. Matthew has three for his bunk beds, Sophia has two for her crib… both theirs are waterproof. I have one that I spent a fortune on, because it is waterproof and does not crinkle. We often have kids climbing into our bed at night, and that pad has paid for itself 20x over with how many times it has saved our bed. Austin and Christopher have one each, they were just cheapies, but they will tell you, I will get mad if I see a naked bed.

No Comments | In: This is how I roll | tags: A lot about nothing, Confessions, Domestic Diva, Family, House Stuff, Humor, Parenting, Silliness, Sponsored. | #

I never did update about what happened at the dealership and parts store. I bailed his car out of car jail on Tuesday morning with only a $46 bill, vs. the $90 I was told. I actually just left it there and they removed the dud battery for me, loaded it into my van and I went to the parts store. I showed him the bill and what they said and he took the dud battery, put a new one out in my car for me and apologized for the inconvenience. I decided not to press the issue with getting them to pay for the bill, more than anything I just wanted an apology. The dealership put in the new battery and washed his car up all pretty for me without charging me extra. My service coordinator was so pleasant that I decided to order some parts, and bring the car back for some other things it needs done before we move.

Because I have to arrange for them to shuttle me back and forth to the dealership, I decided tonight I would take it in, this time to fix a couple cosmetic things and repair his remote start & alarm. After the recent battery incident, it sure made me appreciate my dealership. I have always hated finding and trusting new mechanics, because you hear so many horror stories of shady mechanics. The disadvantage of moving so often, is you get to start over at a new city, and have to find all new services. This is why I love the Google Age so much, word of mouth has always been the way I find businesses, but if that is not available, I am all about the review sites. I have never been a fan of flipping through the phone book.

I found this new website today, called RepairPal that is pretty interesting. You can put in information about your car, repair needed, and zipcode and they will not only give you a range to expect the estimate to be, but shops nearby with peer reviews, which would look like this page showing some San Fransisco auto repair shops. Out of curiosity I put in his Civic and pretended it really had needed an alternator and it came up with a very comprehensive report. Not only did it tell me the range of costs I would be expecting for parts & labor, but then it also gives me recommendations of things I make sure are done (i.e. which other tests I make sure they do) and explanations of symptoms and other necessary repairs that may be necessary. Not just that, then maps out shops in my areas with reviews.

The other helpful part of the website is you can enter a specific make, model and year of a vehicle and get reviews, common problems, recalls, etc. So if you wanted to learn more about a 2001 Honda Accord, it would be easy to look up ratings, reviews, recalls, and common mechanical problems. Other neat features are a car encyclopedia, in case you wanted to look up what a timing belt replacement entails; and a section called My Car where you can keep track of your maintenance and repair records, plus get reminders, recall information and service reminders, and best of all it is all FREE!

When we move next month, it is nice knowing I will be able to find a place to take our cars that I can trust, I am extremely loyal to my service center and look forward to finding a place that can take care of all of our car needs, from oil changes, to mechanical repairs.

1 Comment | In: People, Places & Things | tags: Auto Stuff, Bobby, Me, Sponsored. | #

Now that we have dates for when Bobby will be heading to Iraq, we are really starting to plan about what sorts of items he needs to pack. Warm weather gear, body armor, and a quality Surefire flashlight, are just some of the items we are discussing. He of course is planning more on the entertainment side of what to bring, of course his Playstation and Xbox are going… but because he has already done one tour over there we are better able to plan on what to pack. Of course, anything that we don’t have on hand, will have to be ordered an shipped to him, thankfully, companies like LA Police Gear, will ship to APO/AP addresses. We will choose them for any of our specialty needs, they are the company my husband’s old Army Unit trusted.

This is a sponsored post.

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I just love beaded glass jewelry, and I have tried on several occasions to make it because it is so expensive in stores, but mine always looks like a child tried to put it together. The internet has really opened doors for those who are talented at bead craft to make it more affordable to the public.

When my babies are teeny tiny, I love a classy bracelet to remind me which side I nursed on last, especially when I am super sleep deprived. As they get older, a rugged necklace with a large circular bead or charm is ideal for the baby to play with and avoid distractions is exemplary.

Brought to you by our friends at http://www.abigailscreations.com

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Customer service in the US has changed, a lot. With outsourcing and the standard of quality being lowered, the bar has dropped. Some companies fail to meet the minimum standards and leave you angry and more frustrated, where some companies continue to maintain excellent service and you hang up feeling happy and satisfied. In both occasions I often wish I had someone to share these experiences with, so they can either be warned, or share in your delight in a quality service. Finally there is an outlet that will meet a wider option than just the blogosphere, because now there is MeasuredUp.

If you were to search in the archives of this blog, you will see a rant about my satellite tv provider, because that the time I did not know websites like MeasuredUp. existed. If I had, I feel like my post may have made more of a difference. Maybe if enough people share their negative and positive experiences on MeasuredUp., it will inspire a change in all the companies who leave a lot to be desired, or encourage companies with many positive reviews to keep up the good work.

Check it out, write your own reviews, and read about the companies you use before you have to call so you know what to expect. There is nothing worse than having high expectations of a company and then being let down by a nightmare experience. Hopefully, you will have a fantastic experience and you will want to shout it from the rooftops, but whatever the case may be, share you experience and inspire some change.

*This is a sponsored post.

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No, I did not trip and stub my toe, I just wanted to introduce you to a website called Thoof.com. What an interesting name you may say? Well I am not sure how this name came to be, but if I had to guess I think it is some weird merging of names which is so popular today… can anyone say Benifer? Brangelina? Tomkat?

So here is my theory, some creative geniuses named Thor and Ofira were working together on an on demand news, video, blog, and website program, kind of like TiVo for the PC. They realized after years of work that they both shared a passion for tarsiers (google it) and ended up having a wild torrid affair which ended in much heartbreak and a stronger desire to make their lovechild, thoof.com the leading website for personalized news and information retrieval.

So, playing around with Thoof, I decided to thoof myself (wow, sounds dirty eh?) to see how thoofable (watch for that word, soon to come to a dictionary near you) I am. Well, I guess I am famous! I saw an article about “Which came first, the stripper or the name” which mentioned that although my name is not that of a stripper, my name is that of a suburbanite soccer mom. It also went on to say that I may have been doomed to dance for dollars had my parents named me Candi or something similar. Interesting, too bad my parents were not able to thoof a name for me that would have landed me in a mansion somewhere, instead of driving a minivan with a gaggle of sons.

Don’t forget to submit your own articles to thoof, if you do, you can add a ThoofRank Badge to put on your blog or website to proudly display how popular you have become on thoof!

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