Suggestions Needed

One of the things that both Kristian and I feel very strongly about is saving money in a college fund for Hunter. Kristian was very lucky that his parents paid for his education however I was forced to take out sizable student loans for mine that I'm still *cough*10 years later*cough* paying for and will continue to pay for for many years to come. I don't want my child/children having to start out their adult life in massive debt just to get an education.

We have some money from our tax return that we want to start his college fund with but we've been debating on the best kind of savings plan to setup for him. The 529 plans seem to be popular but I don't like the fact that if you take the money out for anything not education related it gets taxed (at least that's my understanding, I could be wrong). So I was thinking maybe a regular IRA would be better. I also would like something that will hopefully grow and earn money and not just sit in the bank not earning any kind of interest. Ideally we would like for him to go to college but if for some reason he chooses not to or *pleaseGod* gets a scholarship and doesn't need that money for his education I would like for him to be able to put it towards something else, like a down payment on a house without being penalized.

So my question is what's a good way to save for my child's college education? I want something that is easy to put money into, that doesn't have a minimum or maximum contribution limit and ideally wouldn't be taxed if used for something else.

How are you saving for or planning to save for your child's education?

Reunited and it feels so good

I'm not sure if I ever blogged about this or not but about 6 months ago we decided to give our cat Wendal to my mom. A little background...Wendal was Kristian's cat that he adopted as a kitten when he was in college. Wendal will be 14 this May and is still in pretty good health. He's a very sweet and mellow cat and we love him a lot. He was Kristian's little buddy for a long time.

After I moved into Kristian's condo with my cat Halpert we noticed that Wendal started peeing on the floor. As anyone with cats know cat pee STINKS and once it's in your carpets it's basically there for good. When we moved to the townhouse we noticed that once again Wendal was peeing on the carpet in the basement and pooping right outside his litter box. He just refused to use his litterbox anymore. We tried so many different things, using two litter boxes (one for each cat), one Big litter box, new litter, puppy pee pads on the floor and Feliway (which is a plug in that is supposed to ease anxiety) and none of it worked. We knew he was healthy so it was a behavioral issue. We figured with all the changes he had been through over the past few year with me and Halpert joining the party, moving to the townhouse, adopting our puppy Moxie and then me getting pregnant (which the vet confirmed cats can sense) he was just incredibly anxious and acting out.

We couldn't handle the stink of the cat pee on the carpets and with a baby coming knew it wasn't sanitary to have him crawling on a pee filled floor so we knew we couldn't keep Wendal any longer. Very thankfully my mother agreed to take him. She lives in a condo with wood floors so even if he peed it wouldn't ruin any carpeting and even though she has a dog and two cats of her own, they are older and calmer than the zoo we currently have with Hapert and Moxie. We joke that it's like the senior living community over there. So we gave her Wendal to see how he would do.

I'm happy to say that Wendal has adjusted great. Yes he peed on the floor a few times but my mom says she hasn't noticed him doing it anymore. He was hesitant around her other animals at first but now will cuddle up with her girl cats (or as I call them his "sister wives") and he seems much more relaxed and happy.

I had been to visit my mom and see Wendal one time since we gave him to her but Kristian hadn't gone to visit. He said it made him too sad. He misses Wendal a lot and it was easier for him to not see him.

Well this past weekend we decided to take Hunter up to my mom's so he could meet his "fur brother" and so that Kristian could see his little buddy again. We weren't sure how Wendal would react, would he be pissed and hide? Would he even remember us? Turns out that he not only remembers us but he still loves Kristian (I dont' think he ever truly loved me, he tolerated me). Kristian sat in the recliner with Wendal in his lap and Wendal laid there for a good hour, just like old times. I should point out that Wendal won't lay in my mom's or anyone else's lap. Even after we left he stayed in that chair all night even though he usually doesn't even go in that room let alone lay in the chair. I guess he wanted to stay in the same spot where his daddy was. It was really heartwarming and even though it was emotional for Kristian to see him again he now wants to go visit more often.

Below are some of the pictures we took of our visit.

Hunter meeting Wendal for the first time.

H and W

Back in his daddy's lap like old times.

Kristian with his two boys. Look how relaxed Wendal is, Hunter not so much.

Me and my favorite little guy.

The look on Hunter's face cracks me up.

Family photo

Kristian making Hunter ride Wendal like a pony. And THIS is why Wendal is much happier at my mom's house, no silly tormenting.

Working Mother- One Month In

Today marks exactly one month since I've been back at work and a full time working mother. It's amazing how fast the past month has gone by and that I have an almost 3 month old child.

As if taking care of a new baby wasn't exhausting enough throw in working full time and I'm surprised I'm able to function properly. I basically am going non stop from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed and then again once or twice in the middle of the night. It's hard and tiring but it needs to be done...at least until we win the lottery...which unfortunately we did not win last night.

It has gotten easier leaving Hunter at daycare, I only cried the first day, though the mornings are when he's all happy, smiley and snuggly so that makes it tough. But we're now into a routine and I always feel more comfortable once I have a routine. He seems to be enjoying daycare and doing well there and it's nice for me to get a bit of a break and be around adults during the day as well as have a reason to actually shower and put on makeup and feel like a human again.

On Monday I got to work from home. My boss is experimenting with allowing us to telework and for now we each get one day a month to work from home. I'm hoping this will go well so we can do it more often. I still took Hunter to daycare or I wouldn't have been able to get anything done. In between checking/responding to work emails I was able to actually get stuff done around the house like putting away the laundry that has been piling up and sorting through Hunter's clothes and putting away the stuff he's already outgrown *tear*

My normal day consists of the following:

6-6:45am-- wake-up/shower/get dressed
6:45-7:30-- wake up Hunter, nurse him, snuggle him and get him dressed, sometimes I have to change his diaper twice, once when I first wake him up and then again before we leave. He likes to have a butt explosian right after I get him dressed, go figure.  (sometimes these two items get switched if he wakes up on his own first)
7:30-7:45 -- load up the car and leave for daycare
8am -- drop Hunter off at daycare
8-9am -- drive to work...Yes I have an hour long commute...yes it sucks
9-5pm -- earn the big bucks HA! **I typically pump 3 times while at work and that's the milk Hunter takes to daycare the next day**
3-4pm -- Kristian picks up Hunter from daycare
5-6pm -- drive home
6-7pm -- this changes depending on Hunter's mood, sometimes I will nurse him as soon as I get home unless Kristian has recently fed him a bottle. Now that it's warmer and staying light outside later I plan to start taking Hunter on stroller walks to help me get some exercise while Kristian makes dinner. We did this yesterday and it was great.
7-7:30pm -- eat dinner
7:30pm-8:30pm --play with Hunter while catching up on the DVR
8:30pm -- bathtime
9-9:30pm -- bottlefeed, change and put Hunter to bed (sometimes I do it, sometimes Kristian does it)
9:30-10pm -- Pump and finish getting ready for bed
10-10:30pm -- go to bed
Middle of the night -- Hunter USUALLY gets up once around 2-3am and I will change him and nurse him back to sleep. Sometimes he'll wake up around 1am and then again around 4am. If he wakes up twice then Kristian will change him the second time.

As you can see from this schedule there is no time for me to nap or really anytime to just relax. I'm usually on baby duty when I get home since Kristian has him from the time he picks him up from daycare until I get home but there are nights when I need a break and I put him on baby duty for an hour so I can get some shit done around the house.

It's hard and exhausting and most days I feel like a walking zombie but it's amazing how quickly you learn to function on only a few consecutive hours of sleep. I know being a stay at home mom is also incredibly hard, I got a taste of that for 6 weeks so I can't really say if one is easier or not. In my perfect world I think I would only work 2-3 days a week. That way I could still have the adult interaction and baby break but also have more time with Hunter. Maybe one day I'll be able to do that.

I'm interested to hear what other working mothers schedules are like during the day. Feel free to share.

New Tricks

Look who learned a new trick this weekend....

Yep my little man taught himself how to roll over from his tummy to his back!! We discovered this when we went to pick him up from my in-laws house on Saturday. I put him on his belly to show my MIL how good he is at holding his head up and he rolled over!! Thinking it was a fluke we tried again and once again he rolled over.

 On Sunday we got him on video doing it. The video also shows him standing (with some help of course). Hunter has really strong legs and has from the beginning and loves to try to stand. We were calling this his "stop, drop and roll"

Before he only rolled onto his right side but last night he rolled onto his leftside twice as well!

I swear he will be walking next week at this rate!

Saying Goodbye

On Saturday we had the funeral for my father. We attended the viewing first, along with my brothers, my mom, her sister, brother-in-law and niece. I'll be honest I'm not a fan of open caskets regardless of how good the person looks. Dead bodies just make me uncomfortable and it's not the last vision I like to have of that person. I hadn't seen my father in probably six years so seeing him lying there was definitely strange and a bit uncomfortable but I went in to pay my respects.

After the viewing we rode behind the hearse to the cemetary for the burial. It was cold, gray and damp outside and seemed very fitting for the occasion. We met up with my dad's brother and his wife (they chose to skip the viewing) as well as some of my dad's extended family members most of whom I had never met or met when I was just a baby. There was probably about 15-20 people. It was small but nice. The Pastor gave a nice little sermon and my oldest brother who had planned the whole thing gave a really touching speech. I thought he did a great job especially given that we had so many ups and downs with our father. Even Kristian spoke briefly about how even though he never met my father he owed him so much for helping to create me and in turn our son. My mom told me that what Kristian said really touched her and she thought it was sweet that he spoke even though he had never even met my dad.

After the funeral we went to lunch to help celebrate my oldest brothers birthday which was Sunday. Not the best timing but since we were all together anyways we decided to make the best of the situation. After lunch at my family's favorite Chinese food restaurant we went back to my brother's condo to have some of the cake his girlfriend had made. He recently started dating a very nice girl named Melissa who has really been supportive through my father's hospital stay and now the funeral. This is certainly not an easy thing for a new couple to go through but she's really been there for my brother this whole time and I'm so grateful and I just hope she sticks around and perhaps become my sister-in-law one day because I really do like her.

I held myself together for most of the day and ironically the part of the day when I almost lost it was when my brother gave me the gift my father had bought for Hunter before he passed away. Since he didn't have my new address he had just sent it to my brother to give to me. There was a t.v. show about a cop on back in the 80's called Hunter and I actually remember watching it with my dad when I was little. Well when he found out his grandsons name he went out and bought the whole series on DVD for him to have and watch one day. The DVD is now in the nursery and one day when he's older we'll sit down and watch it together and I'll tell him about his grandfather and the good times I had with him.

It hurts me more than it hurts you

Yesterday was Hunter's two month checkup which included a round of shots for various vaccines. He had to get an oral vaccine and then a shot in each thigh. When I met Kristian at the doctor's office (he picked Hunter up from daycare) he mentioned that he thought Hunter needed a diaper change. When I lifted him out of the carseat I saw that yes in fact not only did he need a diaper change but an outfit change as well. I'm just happy he didn't wait to shit on the doctor's table however when Kristian went to remove his brand new diaper to get weighed he decided to piss on himself and the table. Sigh.

The good news is that my little man is growing like a champ, he's now up to 12lbs 14ozs and 22 3/4 inches long so he's gained just over 5 pounds and grown just over 2 inches since he was born. The doctor said that his measurements put him in a high percentile for both and was very pleased with his growth. He also held him in a standing position to check his leg strength which has always been very good, Hunter was able to pretty much stand on his own with the doctor barely holding him. He also put him on his tummy to check how he was lifting his head which he did a good job of and looked like he wanted to try to roll over. So all in all he's growing and developing right on schedule if not a little ahead of schedule and the doctor was very happy.

After that was finished, the nurses came in and gave Hunter the oral vaccine first which supposedly was grape flavored. He sucked that down with no problem. I think he was excited to have a new taste besides milk. Then they laid him down and I held his hands and kept kissing on his forehead while each nurse gave him a shot in his thigh. I had to close my eyes or I probably would've burst into tears. It took him a second to register the pain before he started screaming. I was able to scoop him up pretty quick and he stopped crying right away and was totally fine. He did so great! I really think the shots hurt the parents more than the kids.

When we got home we took him and Moxie on a four mile walk around the neighborhood which is the most exercise I've had in probably 6 months and I can still feel it today. We also gave him some baby Tylenol which I think helped a bit. And he did fine until right before bedtime when he started to get really fussy. He also woke up every 2 hours last night and fussed this morning. But other than that he seems to be fine and I'm hoping by tonight he'll be back to normal and sleeping better again.

Two Months

Since February doesn't have a 30th I'm posting Hunter's two month update on March 1. 

My Sweet Hunter,

You are two months old now! I still cannot get over how fast time is flying and how much bigger you get everyday. Every morning I wake up to your sweet smiles and it is by far the best way to start each day. This past month has been full of changes and milestones and we get so excited to see you grow and change each day. Mommy had to go back to work this month which meant that you started daycare! It was so hard to leave you that first day and I cried all the way to work but I know that you are in good hands and I can already see how it's been helping with your development. I miss you so much during the day but try to make up for it each night by showering you with kisses and attention. You continue to bring so much joy into our lives and we can't wait to see all the new things you do this coming month.


 Here are some of your two month stats:

Weight/Length- We will get your most up to date weight and length at your two month check-up later today but at 7 weeks on Feb. 16th you weighed 11lbs12ozs and were 22.5 inches long. I suspect you are now well over 12 pounds!

Eating- You still LOVE to eat. You are still getting primarily breastmilk but typically get one bottle of formula a day since it's hard for mommy to keep up with your appetite. Thankfully you've been great about switching back and forth between nursing and the bottle and breastmilk and formula. You typically eat around 4ozs every three hours or so with a 5-6oz bottle right before bed. I think we may need to increase you to 5ozs soon for your daily feedings.
Sleep- Overall you've been doing better with your sleeping at night. We typically put you to bed around 9:30-10pm and you wake up around 2am to be changed and fed and fall back asleep pretty easily and then wake up again between 6-7am. A lot of times I need to actually wake you up to get you ready for daycare. Of course you still have bad nights (like last night) where you wake up every two hours! You've almost slept through the night twice so far from about 10pm-4am. Mommy liked those nights!

 Clothes- You are growing out of your clothes quickly. You've pretty much outgrown all your newborn clothes (there a still a couple things I can squeeze you into) and there are a few three month items that are even getting snug. You have long legs and some of the pants are getting a bit short. You wore your first pair of jeans last weekend and I will probably start putting shoes on you soon.

Personality- You are still a pretty chill baby except for the evenings when you will often fuss for a while. You love to be held and snuggled and don't like it when we leave you alone. You've become VERY smiley and have started to smile more when we do something funny. I can't wait to hear you actually laugh! You are not scared of strangers and don't mind other people holding you. You also are not scared of the dog or cat and when you are tired you have no problem sleeping through a lot of noise during the day. So long as you are fed and have a dry diaper you are happy.
Milestones-
-You started daycare on Feb. 14th at 6 weeks old
-You did your first art project at daycare
-You had your first playdate on Feb. 25th
-You moved from the bassinet in our room to your crib in the nursery on Feb. 24th
-You slept for your longest stretch (so far) from 10pm-4am
-You met your great-grandmother Jo for the first time as well as some more cousins
-You went out to your first restaurant LosTeltecos on Feb. 17th

Two Month photos

(doing your first art project at daycare, you refused to look at the camera)

We love you Hunter!!