03.31.10: Obviously in Catch Up Mode

Dear Friends and Family,

Okay. Obviously in catch up mode. Mornings have been hectic due to a certain someone turning off the alarm clock in her sleep. I'm not naming names, but she's not doing it on purpose so I can't be too annoyed with her. Obviously, she needs the sleep.

And, today, I'm up. Hooray!

The weekend? Lots of clothes shopping for P. Spring clothes, summer clothes, hipster urban wear, generic suburban wear, you name it, we've been buying it.

Speaking of P, her top two teeth continue to come in. She's getting over a cold. She's growing quite the Buddha belly. And, we had to put up another gate to keep her away from the kitchen cart because she is so curious. Ready or not, we're hurtling towards toddlerhood.

And, that's about all my brain can muster this morning.


Cheers!
mouse

Free at Last

Dear Friends and Family,

You know the feeling? When you finally accomplish something you've been working towards for a long time? It's a good feeling.

Since Mr. mouse and I met, eons ago, we've been chipping away at debt - credit card debt, car debt, student loan debt, house debt, you name it, we had it, debt. Well, yesterday marked the end of a long journey to debt freedom. Our only monthly fixed obligations now are taxes and insurance. Everything else is solvable... to a degree... We'll always need water, electricity, and gas for heating. But, it gives us a ton of flexibility now.

For instance, I could take a year off if I wanted to. Or, Mr. mouse could open a restaurant if he wanted to. Or, we can start saving toward a new car if we wanted to.

For now, we're just savoring the sense of freedom and pondering the possibilities. Plus, I've committed the next couple of "payments" to our retirement account since it would be a tax deferred investment. Tax deferred. Good.

So, what was the key? Well, there's luck. We've been fortunate to stay employed and to stay healthy. And, then there's skill. We've been sticklers for figuring out how to keep expenses to a single income and use the other income for debt reduction. Mr. mouse's paycheck keeps food on the table and a roof over our heads and the tax man away and the insurance company happy and the utilities paid and covers any fun things we do. My paycheck went towards debt.

Tricky philosophical point - we ultimately decided the monthly obligation would come from Mr. mouse's paycheck and any extra payments from mine. So, if there was a minimum balance due on a credit card that would be covered under Mr. mouse's paycheck. Mine would only cover extra principle payments.

The first couple of months adjusting to life with one paycheck were tough. But, after awhile, we didn't miss the extra money. We got used to deferring purchases until we saved up the cash for them. We dropped cable and life didn't come to an end. We ate out less. We bought less stuff. We managed.

And, now, we're free at last.


Cheers!
mouse

Seven Week Countdown

Dear Friends and Family,

Seven more weeks to go. Then, I'm freed from the tyranny of formula since once P turns one, she can have whole milk.

Seven more weeks to go. Then, I can wind down my pumping sessions which translates into a lot less schedule juggling at work. And, time back. And, one less bag to pack in the morning. And, sleeping through the night.

Seven more weeks to go. Then, P can go through her stockpile in the freezer and Mr. mouse gets his freezer space back.

Seven more weeks to go. I'm feeling like this just may be doable.


Cheers!
mouse

03.22.10: Work Life Balance

Dear Friends and Family,

Where did the weekend go? It's becoming a recurring litany. I've come to the realization I'm spending too much of my weekends catching up on sleep and working. This weekend was no different.

Saturday, we went for an early morning haircut. Then, I worked while P napped and Mr. mouse ran errands. We headed out to the post office to mail off some stuff. Then, because P was napping so well, on a lark, we drove down to meet my sister for dinner.

Sunday, I can't even tell you what Mr. mouse and P did because I spent the whole day catching up on work. And, the whole evening. And, the whole night. And, at 2:35AM I realized I need to find a better balance point.

So, I took today off and worked from home and got through a lot of my emails - enough to feel like I don't have to work tonight when P comes home. And, hopefully enough to have next weekend off as well.


Cheers!
mouse

Scurrying Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Friday.

We all overslept.

P's gone three days without the binky on the ride home.

We discovered top teeth last night.


Cheers!
mouse

Still Dragging

Dear Friends and Family,

This is proving to be an exhausting week. It's Wednesday, and I'm dragging, and I'm falling further behind than typical. Here's to powering through today and hopefully catching up.

I'm down to 6 minutes for my afternoon pumping session. The beauty of that is that I can squeeze it in during a 30 minute block vs. having to find an hour. Yeah for small victories in managing the clock.


Cheers!
mouse

Time to Breathe

Dear Friends and Family,

Where does time go? Well, if you look at a typical mouse weekday:

• sleep: 5 hours
• coffee, blog, morning time: 1 hour
• feed P: 0.5 hours
• shower, personal prep time: 0.5 hours
• morning bag shuffle: 15 minutes
• commute: 1 hour
• daycare drop off: 15 minutes
• work: 10 hours
• day care pick up: 30 minutes
• commute: 1.5 hours
• feed P: 0.5 hours
• down time, play time, dinner, Mr. mouse time: 1 hour
• nap: 1.5 hours
• pump: 0.5 hours

And, there goes the day. 2 precious hours of free time for 22 hours of stuff. Wow, no wonder I feel so time crunched. In a couple of months I get back the 30 minutes of pump time and can sleep 7 hours in a row which will be heavenly. Or, I can get an hour and half down time at night before going to sleep which would be a 50% increase. Yeah for mouse!


Cheers!
mouse

03.15.10: The Return of the Chin

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a quiet weekend at home.

Saturday, we went for his and hers eyebrow work. Then, Mr. mouse dropped off the car to have the brakes looked at. We spent the day at home playing with P. And, then we went to look at some cars before picking ours up at the shop. We burned the midnight oil playing mah jong.

Sunday, we went out for brunch and the inaugural race of the 2010 F1 season which marks the return of one of the all time greats in F1 racing history - Michael Schumacher, the man with a chin to end all chins. Michael returning to racing is the equivalent of Michael (Jordan) returning to basketball + Tiger returning to golf + some other great returning to some other sport. At least in my mind it is.

The rest of Sunday was a quiet day of napping, laundry, and playing with P, our poopy diaper queen. Oh, and taxes, half way through data entry.

And, now, it's Monday again.


Cheers!
mouse

Retiring the Green Pillow

Dear Friends and Family,

Didn't have time to write yesterday.

After months on non-use, we retired P's green pillow. It was her nursing pillow when she was a newborn. Now, she's smart enough to curl up next to me and to roll over when she's ready to switch sides.

Hurtling towards toddlerhood.


Cheers!
mouse

Bending the Productivity Curve

Dear Friends and Family,

My analyst finally started. And, I have a borrowed analyst from another team. My productivity has tripled! It makes me feel a little punch drunk.

And, since P's 10 months old now, I'm beginning to wind down another pumping session at work which frees up another 12.5% of my day.

I feel like the sky's the limit.


Cheers!
mouse

Home Alone II

Dear Friends and Family,

Made it through the night last night in one piece. P was super tired last night. I was tempted to let her sleep after feeding her, but I woke her and brought her downstairs. She had some chicken, some O's, some bread and some sweet potatoes for dinner.

Then, it was eye rubbing central so I took her upstairs to her room. She stood around in her crib for a little bit. I held her for a little bit. And, then she fell asleep for the night.

Hope this morning goes as smoothly as yesterday morning did.


Cheers!
mouse

Home Alone

Dear Friends and Family,

We made it almost ten months before encountering... the overnight business trip.

Mr. mouse left last night for work. He'll be back Wednesday which means I have tonight and tomorrow morning alone with P. I've got my fingers crossed that I make it out of the house in one piece for the day today.

Originally, I was supposed to have last night alone with P. But, Mr. mouse took a late flight. Strangely, there's a world of a difference between 1 night/2 days and 2 nights/2 days.

I'm glad he was able to see P last night.


Cheers!
mouse

03.08.10: Third Times the Charm

Dear Friends and Family,

We have a standing tradition of getting together with Mr. mouse's college roommate to celebrate their joint birthdays. Except, last year, when Mr. mouse's roommate's kids got sick. We rescheduled for a couple of weeks out. And, then my grandmother passed away. So, we rescheduled for a couple of months out. And, the third times the charm. They came over for the weekend this past weekend.

Friday afternoon, I got a call from school, P had broken out in something - red dots all over her body. I was like, "you've got to be kidding me, we must be cursed." But, the doctor gave the okay and an allergist referral, clearing the way for our weekend visitors.

Friday. Airport. Dinner. Play. Sleep.

Saturday. Bagels. Zoo. Pizza. Naps. Dinner. Play. Sleep.

Sunday. Bagels. Park. Lunch. Aquarium. Airport.

P loved playing with her two new friends. The adults got a kick out of watching the daughter feed P her O's. And, we got a kick out of watching the big kids squish themselves into the makeshift car P has. Oh, and, yes, the Flex rocks for transporting a crew and a quarter around time.

P had her ninth month appointment on Sunday. In addition to holding off on eggs and shellfish, yogurt is also now on hold. Want a good laugh? head: >50th percentile, height: 25th percentile, weight: <5th percentile. She may look like her father, but her proportions are all from her mother.

And, last but not least, the next couple of days are going to be hectic. So, I may, or may not, make it on to post. If I don't, I should resurface by Thursday.


Cheers!
mouse

"Guys"

Dear Friends and Family,

How much we evolve...

I remember the first time a colleague objected to the use of the generic "guys" to refer to both men and women in a gender neutral use case. And, I thought they were a bunch of crock.

Somewhere along the line I realized they were right.

And, now, when I'm in a group and someone refers to us all as guys, I'm like hello. Um, not quite.

If you don't manage it, it manages you. Happy Thursday!


Cheers!
mouse

Reading to P

Dear Friends and Family,

Back before P was mobile, she loved reading books together. We'd lie on our backs on the bed and she would watch while I read. Or, I'd sit her in my lap and she would watch while I read. Then, as she got older, we'd lie on our stomachs or she'd sit in my lap and I'd read while she babbled.

Now. Well, if she's being clingy, reading to P is the best way to get her off of my lap and crawling away to explore. Last night, I was crawling around the room, holding the book in front of her to try to read to her. Mr. mouse tried an abbreviated story that he makes up from the pictures. But, that didn't work either. He was crawling around the room, holding the book in front of her to try to make up a story for her.

So, if she doesn't get into a respectable college, it's not for lack of trying on our part to provide mental stimulation. Perhaps she'll get more interested once she's older. In the mean time, we'll continue our crawling book time escapades.


Cheers!
mouse

Sleep Training

Dear Friends and Family,

P's been waking at night for a couple of nights in a row now.

She's been a great sleeper so we've never thought about sleep training. We always assumed she was hungry, fed her and then let her go back to sleep. Now, I wonder if we should continue with that routine.

It could be she's getting over a cold. It could be teeth coming in. It could be she's just got us figured out.

Lovely, we've been reduced to mind games with a nine month old.


Cheers!
mouse

03.01.10: Skipped Trip

Dear Friends and Family,

Another weekend, another cancelled trip. We had grand plans to visit my college roommate and her new one month old. Then, P came down with a cold, compliments of daycare. And, we figured we'd spare the newborn and stay at home.

Saturday was a quiet day of playing with P while Mr. mouse went on an errand run. We went out for dinner and it turns out we saved the best (of our Restaurant Week) for last. Mr. mouse loved his duck confit and his hangar steak. And, I could not get enough of my braised short rib or my rack of lamb. Delicious.

Sunday was another quiet day. P had her first serious fall. She was reaching for a toy on the coffee table, got excited, lost her balance, and fell backward. At first we thought it was just a fall. Then, we noticed the mouth full of blood. We cleaned it up and she seemed fine, but, she scared us for the rest of the day. Nothing like seeing a river of blood coming out of your kid's mouth to make you feel like an inadequate parent.

And, now it's Monday. And, through a unfortunate series of events P's off to daycare and I'm off to work and Mr. mouse is on vacation.


Cheers!
mouse