2017

This sums up my mood right now. Cozy and a little lazy.

It seems a little late to write a 2017 post when January is almost over. It has taken me this long to wrap my head around the fact that it is a new year. Between my family being here, pregnancy, and just general business, I really hadn't taken the time to sit and reflect on what I wanted 2017 to look like.
After mulling it over a little, the thought I kept coming back to was transition. I feel like I am in a weird holding pattern till these babies are born. Almost like the beginning of the year will actually come after they are are born. My internal clock is waiting for them to start the countdown.
Our family is transitioning. We're going from three to five in a matter of weeks. I'm still wrestling with what I want to my day to day life look like as a stay-at-home mom. I want something concrete but it is way too soon to even begin to nail down anything. There are so many variables that I need to work through before I get any idea of what life is actually going to look like.
I am trying to be very mindful of the daily decisions that I make. It's the little decisions and everyday tasks that move life forward. I don't want to my lack of intentionality to lead me down a path I didn't intend to take. Also, any growth that I want to see is only going to come from little daily increments of effort. Trying to keep that in forefront of my mind helps me to prioritize my daily and weekly activities. It also helps alleviate some of my task oriented tunnel vision which I am very prone to get. I want to keep the big picture in front of me so that I can do a better job in my daily decision making process.
All of that to say, 2017 is going to be a year of change, both big and small. I definitely don't have a clear vision of what it's going to look like but I am resolved to just take it one step at a time and make the most every moment that I have.

Warning: This Is Sappy

If you prefer not to read about romantic relationships or any of that type of mush, move on.
This was a trying week. We were deep in throes of consolidating the nap schedule, there has been a ton of stuff happening at work, and on top of that Scott was traveling all week for work. He travels quite a bit for his job, so it is not uncommon for me to be home with Baby and Puppy by myself for extended periods of time. Usually, it isn't that bad. This week, however, I was so ready for him to get back. Taking care of a 18 month old takes a lot of energy but for the most part, it is very doable by yourself. There is, however, something comforting about knowing that you don't have to do it by yourself. If I am cooking dinner, and JW is getting under my feet causing chaos, I can move him out of the way, set him up with toys etc. Just because he is in the way doesn't mean I can't get stuff done but it is so nice when to be able to ask Scott to take him for a few minutes. That's what I love about being married. I can do it myself but I don't have to.
I think that is what is beautiful about marriage. I am so thankful that I can do everything on my own but I get to live in the knowledge that I have partner who will be there to share the burden.  Scott and I have been together for 8 years, married for 5 of those. It is crazy to think about who we were when we first started dating. So much bad communication. So many needless arguments mainly incited by me and my temper. Somehow, through long distance and age differences and a bunch of other hurdles we stayed together and got married. I can honestly say that he is my best friend. Any independence that I "lost" when I got married has more than been surpassed with the security and trust I have received. The little third culture kid in me has never felt more at home.
This week reminded me so much a scene in Gilmore Girls.

It's during the season where Lorelai is frantically trying to get the inn renovated and she is at her wits end. She comes from horrible dinner at her parents' (classic) and goes over to meet Luke. Unbeknownst to Luke, Lorelai is getting ready to ask him for a loan to cover the last bit of inn renovations. The stress, the bad dinner, coupled with the fact Lorelai and Rory have not been able to talk in forever results in her having a major ugly-face cry meltdown. Luke sweetly comforts her while to pours out all of her stress and frustration. The phrase that really sticks out is Lorelai wishing she had someone in her corner who could pick up the slack. Someone who she could rely on when times got tough. Of course the audience, is screaming, "HE IS RIGHT THERE! JUST MARRY HIM ALREADY!" That's a topic for a different time. All of that to say, I am thankful that I don't have to be Lorelai in Season 4. I have have found that person.

OK, sappy post over. Back to normal life.

Letting Go Of Balance

(Craft Street Design)

If you remember back in my pregnancy announcement, I mentioned that after the twins are born am I planning on quitting my part time job. It's a decision that I made quickly but it definitely was not made lightly. It is a pretty big deal to me.  I love working. I really truly do. I love getting to put into practice the stuff that I learned in school. I love problem solving. I love the intricacies of small businesses. I enjoy spending non-work time learning about work related topics. I listen to podcasts about leadership. I read articles about market trends. I love doing what I do. Even with all that, I knew that I couldn't continue working with three small children.
One thing that I know about myself is that I am not satisfied unless I am giving 110% to something. The problem with this type of personality is it is impossible to really and truly give all of your energy to everything. It makes prioritizing things hard. I should be able to everything and do it all well, right? Wrong. Something has to give. In the case, it is my job.
I really don't believe in work-life balance. The whole concept of trying to "balance" all the different items in our lives immediately sets us up for failure. The reality is, some things are more important or vital and therefore should receive more of our time and attention. I had a professor in school talk about shifting the discussion away from work-life balance to work-life blend. The idea being, those important or vital things are going to require more time and energy and they should be given the time and energy they need. We don't need to assume that all activities should be treated equally or given the same amount of consideration. This type of thinking was so liberating for me. It helps me limit my focus and prioritize what is important. In this case and this time in my life, the most important things is taking care of my family. If I decided to continue working, it would be to the detriment of my children. This is not a statement against working moms. I have the highest respect and admiration for women in the workforce. I just know myself really well and I know that if I continued to work after the twins were born, I would put myself in a position where I could not care for them correctly. Since, it is about blending my time and my energy, I am not going to fret about balancing out my efforts. While they are small and require so much, I really want to be able to give them the majority of my time and energy.
I like to think of it as a pie chart. Can you tell I am business nerd? The amount of time in the chart is finite because let's face it, I have to sleep. Taking care of the three little ones is going to take up a lot more time than anything else. So if I taking care of my family and everything that it entails is my main priority, that is going to severely limit the amount of time I have to spend on other things. I have to be conscientious to not add more things that I can reasonably handle. That automatically means that some things are not going to make the cut. It forces to prioritize and really come to grips with the fact that I can't do it all. I am looking forward to what this new season will teach me. Plus, it's just that, a season. This is not forever. Seasons change. I am going to make the most of this one and learn as much as I can.

Nursery Inspiration

(1/ 2/ 3)

Being pregnant has allowed me to indulge myself a little more on Pinterest. I love looking at nursery inspiration even if my final product doesn't look the same way. I really didn't decorate the last nursery. I started late and ran out of steam before he arrived and it just fell really low on the to do list. I am hoping to do a little more this time. I love decorating and finding items that represent our family. I like baby rooms that don’t feel overly baby-like. I like the idea of the decor aging well with the child.

These three layouts are all from Lay Lay Baby. She creates the most amazing style boards. I love how eclectic and put together each one is. We don’t know the gender of the twins yet, but for some reason everyone keeps saying that they will be boy/girl. I kind of played off that with these three layouts. I used some of the design themes that we already want to incorporate in our house to guide the selection process. Our home has traditional architecture so I wanted to stay away from overly modern styles.  Plus, I am huge sucker for plaid so that one was definitely going to make the cut. While the style boards are much more masculine than many people would choose for a girl's room, I think with a little tweaking, each one could be adjusted to make it more feminine. I guess that I means I get to do more inspiration browsing. Oh, darn.

Two Surprises

This is turning in a season of change for a our little family. We found out that we are expecting twins! Needless to say, we are shocked and excited but mostly excited. This whole pregnancy was a big surprise but throwing multiples into the mix has made it extra crazy.
I am so thankful that I am past the first trimester. I can get pretty nauseated and drained during those first thirteen weeks. Around week 10 I start wondering if the nausea will ever end or if my motivation will ever come back. Pretty dramatic, I know, but I blame it on the hormones. Thankfully, it doesn't fail that around week fourteen the symptoms start to subside. I am so happy to be able to eat well again even if it means I am eating non-stop every waking hour. Being ravenously hungry is much better than being hungry but wanting to throw up at the same time.
The biggest change on the horizon, other than the expansion of our family, is that I will quitting my part time job. This is a pretty big deal for me and definitely will be the subject of a later post. As some one who loves working and loves learning, this is was a big decision but it wasn't hard to make. I know that my most ambitious self could not pull off working part time and taking care of 3 under 2 (yes, our other baby won't even be two years old when they are born. Pray for me.) I think it was God's way of taking the decision out of my hands. I am very at peace with it, but like I said, I will get further into the discussion at a later date. Right now, I am just enjoying the process and spending too much time on Pinterest looking at nursery inspiration.

Have a great weekend!

A Chill In The Air

The air in Georgia actually isn't that chilly but Hurricane Hermine has brought in some clouds and rain. In honor of September being here and pumpkin everything starting, I thought I would go back through my old photos and pull some of my favorite autumn memories.
I love doing seasonally appropriate things. The perfect example is the pumpkin spice latte. I refuse to drink a PSL while wearing shorts. Something just feels wrong doing fall things in summer attire. That usually means that I am the last one to put out pumpkins or bust out the boots. September in Georgia is pretty much just a barely cooler version of August. So while everyone else jumps on the fall train, I will calmly wait till the temperatures drop and the leaves start to change.
Even still, I am getting excited to do all of those fun seasonal things here soon. I see some corn mazes and pumpkin carving in the future.

Do you have any seasonal traditions? Are you neurotic about seasonal appropriateness like me? No? Oh well.. 

Dream Big

(Pinterest, purchase here)

One the biggest motivators to overhaul our finances was the realization that if we continued to do what we were doing, we were never going to get to do the things we wanted to do. It's easy to talk about future plans or dreams. "One day we will do this," or, "One day we will go there." They roll of the tongue easily. They are dreamy hypotheticals. Good intentions with no substance. When it really truly hit me that we were never going to get to do those "one day" things was when I became really intense on whipping our financial life into shape. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. The old adage by Benjamin Franklin holds true, especially in the world of personal finance. 

Some people, like me, can get down and dirty in the numbers and budgeting, and that brings a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction in itself. My husband on the other hand, could care less. He doesn't get excited about allocating money to different categories. He is a spender through and through. He needs a big reason for doing the nitty gritty. The prize for a race well run. Chris Hogan's book, Retire Inspired, stresses the importance of dreaming big. What would you do if you could do anything you wanted? Honestly, this question is hard for me to answer. I am such a practical person at heart that it takes a lot to get me into that frame of mind. Scott and I talked about this and his answer was quick and definitive. All he wants is to buy a sailboat and sail around the world. That's a big dream but it is the perfect motivator. It's big enough that it will require sacrifice but it still attainable. My dreams are similar. We both love to travel and I cannot wait to take our future family all over the world. I want to plan a trip, have the money, and not stress about anything. 

So what does that really look like? If the whole point of this dreaming big thing is to actually do it, then how do you get there? One word, budget. It's not a dirty word. For a person like me, who will get the worst case of buyer's remorse, it is a life saver. Knowing that I have money allocated to a specific category keeps me from freaking out when I go to buy something. It also assures me that I am not sabotaging future goals for a momentary pleasure. Seeing how all the pieces fit together is amazing. Now you might be thinking, "Yeah, that is great for a nerd like you, but what about me? I don't care about numbers! I just want to spend my money how I want to!" 

Your thoughts are real and valid. I would argue that your definition of budget might be slightly wrong. Budget doesn't mean cheap or constricting. It simply means that there is a finite amount you can spend on any particular thing. How does that sound any better? Well, the reason is because YOU decide what that finite amount is. You tell your money where it is going to go. Sure there are some things that you going to have to pay even if you don't want to. Utilities, maybe rent or a mortgage, food, transportation, but the rest is up to you. It's is when you consciously decide how you going to spend your money that you actually can see those big dreams becoming reality. Otherwise the money just leaks out of your bank account month after month, and you will never make any progress. 

If you still don't believe me, I strongly encourage you to try out www.everydollar.com. It is great budgeting tool that has helped us to so much. When I use it, I can see that we are going to get to those "one day" things and I can actually start dreaming bigger. I am confident that those dreams are going to become realities. 

Any other personal finance junkies out there? Are you more of spender or a saver? What big things do you want accomplish? 

Daydreaming

Hello from sunny Florida!We are on what I am considering our first family vacation. Just the three of us, hanging out at the beach and relaxing. Well, there has been a little work involved as well. Scott had to leave for a couple of days for meetings and I am working away on a project that is due when we get back. Working on a sunny balcony surrounded by palm trees beats a office desk any day.
 This is just what we needed. We are homebodies and love staying in but we would also consider ourselves travel bugs. Most of our homebody evenings are spent watching and rewatching our favorite episodes of Rick Steve's Europe and any and all of Anthony Bourdain's shows. We are equally comfortable on the go as we are on the couch. So getting away from our usual routine for a bit is just right.
I love coming down here. I love the beach. Scott loves just being able to relax. Every time we come we talk about what it would be like to own a sailboat. Scott is convinced that he wants to try a transatlantic voyage. I'll be fine with just sailing around the harbor. We shall see. Either way, it's fun to be able to chat and daydream. Speaking of dreaming, I got a copy of Retire Inspired for my birthday (No, I didn't turn 45. Guess again.) I have gotten into it yet, but I am really excited about it. One of the main premises of the book is that planning for retirement is not about quitting your job and doing nothing for years, it's about being able to do whatever you want. The tagline is "it's not an age, it's a financial number." You don't have to be 65 and a half. What I think it so empowering about this idea is that it can make that little sailboat daydream a reality. Of course it will require some hard work and financial sacrifice now, but if you that's all it takes to make a dream come true, that's really not that bad.
Maybe the dream will change and we will probably have to take the long way round to get there. Paying for college can get real expensive. I am just happy that we are talking about these things and actually taking steps to get there. As the author of the book says, "A dream without a plan is just a wish."

What are your dreams? Are you taking steps to get there? Do you feel like you're making progress? 

2016

Well, I am two weeks late with this post. 2016 has started off well. I actually haven't been posting because I have actually been doing things! It feels pretty good. I have been thinking a lot about goal setting. I usually try to set some sort of resolutions every year, but rarely do they stick. I really want this year to be different. I want to say that I going to get in shape and actually get in shape. Or say that I am going to do laundry every day and actually do that laundry. So far, I am off to a pretty good start in the workout department. I have been slacking on the laundry. There definitely is a difference between making a resolution and setting a goal. I am trying to do a better job of setting concrete goals rather than vague resolutions.
 So what makes a goal? I remember talking a lot of about this in my Strategic Management class. Companies that succeed have a clear mission or goal. What are the characteristics of a clear goal? According to Dave Ramsey, who I love listening to driving to and from work, a good goal is specific, personal, measurable, attainable and in writing. What does that look like? For our family, one of the goals this year is to completely fund our emergency fund of 6 months of expenses. That meets the specific requirement. It is personal because it directly affects our family's well-being so it puts internal pressure on us to get it done. It is measurable because we have an exact number that we are trying to reach. It is an attainable number that we can save for and we have set a realistic time frame for reaching that goal. Lastly, it is in writing and both myself and Scott see it on daily basis. For me in writing also means a visual chart. I love to check stuff off or to color things in so I made a little thermometer chart to color in as we get closer to the goal. That for me has been the kicker for staying focussed really pushing me to save and work hard on finishing.
I am trying to translate this to my physical goals. I want to be in better shape next January than I am now. I don't really care about losing weight but I know that I could be stronger. I am still struggling with how I want to define this goal. Right now, the best metric I have is how many times a week I do something physically active. I am shooting for 4 times a week right now. To motivate me and give a visual reminder, I am coloring in the days on the monthly view of my planner. Each day that I do a workout of some kind I color that day in my planner. It gives me an overview of how active that month. I like seeing the all the days that are colored in and letting the blank days be that little kick in the pants to get me going. When I look down and see a lot of blanks days it stops me from getting complacent. I am hoping that building these little reminders into my routine will motivate me stick with my goals this year and make some progress.

Is 2016 off to a good start for you? Do you make goals/resolutions each year? What keeps to you motivated?

Over The Weekend: Christmas Party Time

Just a few snapshots from our family Christmas party last night. It was a Christmas pajama party, which made for a cozy, cute time. This year, we had 5 new, squishy additions to the family. This has been the year of the baby. The youngest was born just a week ago! It makes for exciting (loud) family get-togethers. Baby was somewhat interested in unwrapping his gifts. I think next year will be more exciting for him. All the excitement and prepping is really just us the parents. A 6 month doesn't know what Christmas is. He could care less if he gets a box covered in pretty paper.

Have a great week!

Over the Weekend: Halloween

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Our festivities were dampened by a little by sickness, but it did not stop us from getting dressed up. For Baby's first Halloween, I decided I would try to make a cute little bird costume. He always has his frog Wubbanub in his mouth so I thought a little bird chomping down on a frog would be hilarious. I wanted to make his costume, first to save money and secondly because I enjoy the creative process. I don't know if it was much cheaper but I know I enjoyed the experience. I found the hoodie/zip up combo on hm.com for $18. The felt for the beak, eyes and feathers cost $2 at Hobby Lobby. Overall, I didn't sink too much money into the costume and I love that it gave me an excuse to break out my sewing stuff.
Since I never pass up on a chance for a costume, I was a bird watcher (every baby bird needs someone to look after it). My outfit consisted of some work pants, one of Scott's flannels and his duck hunting hat. I also had a backpack and a pair of binoculars that were not pictured.  It was all rather silly and low key but I loved every minute of it. The night ended with some candy in bed while the sick husband watched some 30 Rock. A Halloween for the record books, folks.

Over the Weekend: R&R

Not much happened over the weekend. It was filled with cleaning, watching The Office, and doing some baking. We visited a new potential church which was exciting. The leaves are changing all around. It is cold and dreary and wonderful
This week has been rather busy. I have everything I need for the baby's costume but I have not started on the sewing process at all. I am wanting to do a past costume round up before the reveal.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Over The Weekend: Pumpkin

This weekend was quintessential autumn. It was chilly, we bought pumpkins, I made pumpkin spice coffee syrup. It was amazing. I snapped a few pictures of baby with our pumpkin haul. He was too cute. I am just trying to soak all of this amazing weather and all of the seasonally appropriate activities, possibly.

Have a good Monday!

Summer 2015

Tomorrow is first the day fall. Where did the summer go? My family is back in Slovenia. It was wonderful to have them here, especially for JW's birth. I cannot believe that he is going to four months old next week! It still feels like yesterday we brought him home. This summer was very eventful. I had a baby, my family was visiting, we drove out to Texas. we went to Disney World. I feel tired just thinking about it all. So many good memories were created and I am incredibly thankful that I got to make them. I am looking forward to a little slower pace over the next couple of weeks. There should not be as many things on my plate going forward.
I am going to miss being to drive 5 minutes and hang out with my mom and sisters or talk to my dad. Still, they are just a Skype call away.

Why You No Sleep?

This a phrase I have asked my baby many, many times. The age old parenting dilemma: getting your child into a regular sleep pattern. Experiencing sleep deprivation was my biggest fear all through out my pregnancy. It may seem trivial, but I LOVE sleep. I went to bed every night at 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm...in college. I have never pulled an all-nighter. I try for a regular 8-9 hours every single night. To say sleep is important to me is a extreme understatement. I hate how I feel and act when I go without asleep. I am sluggish, grouchy, and I can be snappy and rude. So getting this little guy on somewhat of a regular routine was high on my priority list from the get go.
Thankfully, God in His great mercy has been especially kind. I honestly think He is the one who fueled me during those 3 am feedings. He has also blessed us with a pretty easy-going baby. I cannot take credit for any of this little guy's disposition.
All that said, I really do believe that creating a pretty regular pattern has been beneficial for both myself and baby. I am not an expert in this by any stretch of the imagination. This is my first baby, so I am just working with the knowledge I have gleaned from the Internet and my mom and mother in-law. This is what has worked for us and I hope that if you are a mom reading this, it can help you as well.

1. Be calm.
Babies can feel your stress. You can feel your stress. When you feel that that stress bubbling up inside, like a geyser getting ready to explode, stop. Take some deep breaths, say a prayer, lay it at the feet of Jesus, and take it one step at a time. One way that helps me not to get too overwhelmed is to approach the sleep situation like an experiment. If my hypothesis A fell through, where did it go wrong? What should I change for next time? What is the new hypothesis for getting the best sleep?That may seems harsh or clinical, but it allows me to not let my emotions run over me. I have to be ok with getting it wrong, because in reality, I am going to get it wrong a lot. I can only do my best.

2. Be quick to ask advice.
When I was trying to figure out how to get baby to sleep in those first days, the first person I turned to was my mom. Not the Internet, not books, not an app but my mom. She has 5 kids and we all are fairly well-adjusted human beings, so her credentials seem pretty solid. If you do not have a mature, experienced person in your life, find one. Life is too hard to go at it alone. That is coming from someone who is fiercely independent and proud to a fault. Ask for help. Many new moms crater because they shut themselves off in those first days. You are experiencing crazy hormonal imbalances and probably some exhaustion. Talk to someone you trust. You do not have to do this alone.

3. Be ok with crying.
Sadly, babies cry. They cry a lot. Do not let it get to you. You are not a bad mom if your baby cries. The poor little things are being flooded with stimuli. This world is hard for them. They are going to cry, especially when you are trying to get them to sleep. I bawled when we put our little guy in his crib. He screamed and screamed but I knew he was exhausted and needed to sleep. He had barely slept that second night in the hospital. I knew that he needed to sleep and I knew that it would be best for him to sleep in his crib. I laid on the couch and cried while he cried. It worked though. He fell asleep and has been sleeping in his crib ever since.

4. Be diligent to the routine that you establish
This is especially hard for me. I crave routine and structure but I have a hard time telling people no. When it comes to getting your baby on a sleep routine, you are going to have to say no to people. Nap times and bed times are not going to magically coincide with other peoples' schedules. Especially as the baby gets older and more manageable, it seem like the schedule is not as important. It still is incredibly vital. The key getting baby into a solid schedule is to establish fixed points the day. Right now, I am trying to establish a set wake time and bed time for our 3 month old. The goal is not only to give baby a fixed point a reference, but to help you better schedule your day.

5. Be ready for change.
The most frustrating part of this sleep scheduling journey has been the regression. Our little guy has been sleeping for 9-10 hour stretches for several weeks now but all of a sudden, he wants to wake up at 5 am. I do not want to wake up at 5 am. There is nothing I want less in the world. It is incredibly frustrating. I know that with time and patience, we will get through this spell but it is hard to look at it that way when I am are stumbling blindly through the house to try to console the baby back to sleep. It is best to be prepared for the inevitable hiccup. It keeps me from getting complacent. It also stresses the point about remaining diligent to the routine. Keep working at it till something works.

Ok, now that I am done ranting (did it seem like I was ranting, I don't mean to come across that way), what do you think?

I want to stress again that I am not an expert. I know that different people will have different views. This is simply my take on the situation and a few things that I have learned so far. If anyone has any great insights, I would love to hear them! 

Traveling With A Baby

Pre-Disney packing with the little guy

While I have traveled quite a bit in my life, this is the first time that I have traveled with a small child that I was responsible for. Let me tell you, it is nerve-wracking! Our trip to Walt Disney World was the second long distance road trip that we have done this summer with our little bundle of joy. The first was a 12 hour drive out to Texas to visit my grandparents. Here are a few things that I learned from both experiences.

1. When in doubt, overpack

We had the luxury of packing our Suburban to the brim both times with baby gear. Usually, I abhor overpacking. I do not like taking a bunch of stuff that I end up not using. With a 2 month-old baby, you never know what you might need. I packed multiple extra outfits, tons of extra burp cloths, and three separate carrying devices (Solly Baby wrap, Ergobaby 360 carrier, and our BabyJogger City Select stroller).

The truth is that babies do not always behave the way you expect them to. Just because he is happy and relaxed today does not mean he will be that way tomorrow. So when you are not in your normal environment, it pays to have all the options available to you. Obviously, if you are flying then there is a limit to how much you can bring. I have yet to fly with him but I will definitely do a flying with baby post when that time comes. 

2. A little extra preparation on the front end equals more relaxation on the back end

Take the time to organize that extra bit. Set up a diaper changing station in the car or maybe pack outfits or similar articles of clothing in plastic resealable bags. I personally like to "setup up shop" when I get to the hotel room. By putting everything in it's own spot and organizing the room a little makes me feel less as I am going through my day. It also helps when it is time to pack up and go home. This trip, I really took advantage of the closet space in our hotel. I used the closets as a place to corral all the dirty laundry. When it was time to pack up, I simply had to open the closet and put all the things on the floor in the suitcase. Keeping all the clothes in one place kept the room from getting too dirty and sped up the packing process. 

3. Set yourself up for success

Make naps and feeding a priority. Do not let the expectations of others dictate your baby's schedule. This is hard for me because I am a people pleaser to the core. I had to come to terms with the fact that trying to fit my baby's schedule into someone else's plans was not going to turn out well for anyone. He was fussy or irritable because his napping and feeding pattern was disrupted by visits when we in Texas. At Disney, I was in charge of much of the planning so I worked to schedule our daily activities around his routine. There were still times, however, that I had to leave the fun to take care of him. You cannot have FOMO  as a parent. There will be many times that what is best for your baby is not what is the most fun for you. The payoff comes when you have a happy, content baby for longer periods of time. By missing out on a little here and there, you will have a overall more enjoyable travel experience.  

4. Be ok with winging it

There will be times that your best planning with fall through. There will not be a good place to nurse. You will forget your pack-n-play in the car after it has been valet parked and you can't get it (yes, I had to create a little bed on the floor for my 8 week-old baby. That same evening, I forgot to get extra diapers. #parentingfail) There is a strength to being able to roll with the punches. The first evening we were at Disney we had dinner reservations for a dinner-musical event. Little baby was screaming before we even got seated. I had a feeling he was hungry. I did not want to leave or make Scott leave but I knew that shoving the paci in the little guy's mouth was only going to work for so long. Thankfully, we were seated in the very back and the lights were fairly dim. I whipped out that nursing cover and tried my hand at my first public feeding session. It was difficult. I did not get to eat right away even though I was famished but the little guy was quieted. What had the makings of a disaster ended up being a pretty pleasant evening. Plus, I gained a whole lot of confidence from solving the problem.

5. Ask for help
This one is probably the hardest for me to come to terms with. I would consider myself and incredibly independent person. I have always enjoyed doing it myself. Well, this Disney trip would not have been possible if I had to do it on my own. Not only was my husband incredibly supportive and helpful, but my mother in-law went above and beyond to help out with the little guy. She would wait for us while we rode rides and took him back to the hotel early so we could move faster through the parks. She was basically super grandma. All of the planning in the world could not have made a difference without her help. I just had to be ok with asking for it.

The main thing is to do what you think is right for your family. If you do not know what to do, seek wise counsel. There are tons of men and women who are older and wiser out there. If you do not have someone who is an older parent, who you respect, then find someone. Even if it is to just bounce ideas off of, it will be very helpful. While there a few guiding principles that apply across the board, how they play out in each family is very different. Do what you think is best and if that does not work try something else. The goal is not being perfect from the beginning. Rather it is to find out what works for you and your baby. Keep that in mind when you are making travel plans and I am sure things will go more smoothly. 

Sisters, Sisters

The main reason we took this trip was to take my two littlest sisters to Walt Disney World. It would have been a pretty ridiculous decision to a 2 month old to Disney for any other reason. But for them, I was willing to make the sacrifice. I am 15 years older than my youngest sister. It a lot of ways I am more like a really fun aunt than a sister. Not  only am I much older but I also spent a good deal of their lives away, either at boarding school during high school or at college. The youngest one was a week old before I saw her when I got home for Christmas break. Despite the age difference and the physical distance we have stayed pretty close. I have always tried really hard to spend an extra special amount of time with each one because I get to see them so rarely. I try to be extra intentional because I know there is a lot that I am missing out on. This is was a huge motivating factor for taking this trip. 

Surprisingly, the sister I grew the most with over this trip was not the 11 year-old or the 9 year-old. It was my 16 year-old sister. I left for boarding school when she was 5 years old. Obviously, a 14 year-old and 5 year-old do not have that much in common so I really did not "know" her that well when I left. I guess I was not as intentional back then because I feel like a missed getting to her know for all of those years. I was already in college when she started high school and I was not home regularly so we did not have a ton of physical interaction for several years. This summer is one the longest times I have spent with her since high school. It has been like getting to know a whole new person.

This trip was precious for that reason. Not only did I get to thoroughly enjoy my two littlest sisters as they had a blast, but I got to spend some significant quality time with my middle sister. It is exciting when your siblings get older. Your friendship with them can deepen and become so much more than a sibling relationship. I am looking forward to seeing where ours is headed.