All Full Nai Nai Parts

Dear Friends and Family,

Stop here if you're easily squeamish.

After two and a half years, I think P and I are done with a very physical bond that started before birth.

I started breast feeding because I thought it was worth a try. I continued because of a belief that the stuff in formula can't possible be as good for you as an incredibly complex natural substance. I made it through the first year thanks to a lot of luck, and some discipline, persistence and tracking.

I continued because it is a special bond. It's time alone that can't be replaced by time doing other activities together. I can't describe it. It's different.

And, after the first year, it's as easy as cake. You don't pump. You don't have to worry about the nutritional aspects. If they get hungry, you can feed them food. If they get thirsty, you can give them milk or water. If they're not growing, it's not because of the breast feeding. No pressure whatsoever.

And, that's what made it so difficult to figure out when the right time was to wean. I knew I wanted to do it sometime before she turned three, because there's a point when you're done (and different people define that point for themselves, mine was three). And, fortunately for me, P made it easy. She decided she was done. So, I've got about a week while I wind down using my old friend the breast pump.

But, I have to say, it's been a rewarding experience. It wasn't easy the first year, when the pressure can feel immense. But, it was very easy for the next year and half. And, I'm glad we got to share what we did for as long as we did.


Cheers!
mouse

December Rush

Dear Friends and Family,

It's November 29th which means there are 26 days between now and Christmas. Twenty six days to get everyone's gifts ordered. Twenty six days to do cards. Twenty six days to enjoy the tree. Twenty six days to make our photo album. Twenty six days to plan our week off between Christmas and New Years (note to self: I am fine spending those days at home with Mr. mouse and P). Twenty six days to plan the teacher's lunch. Twenty six days... How did this happen?

The question I should be asking is not how long is the list, but how can we simplify the list? Does everything have to happen in the next twenty six days? Call me a grinch, but we-all seem to make it more complicated than it needs to be in the "spirit of the holidays," which, when you really think about it, aren't really about any of what I wrote about up there.

In my perfect world, I wouldn't buy presents for anyone besides P. We would decorate the tree. We would make a handful of cards together. We would spend the week at the park, at the zoo, at the aquarium, at museums and at home. We would go to every store in town with a cart with a car in front and we'd play all day.

And, then, it'd be January, and I'd emerge from my cave of isolationism and be none the worse for the wear.


Cheers!
mouse

11.28.11: Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Where did the five days go?

We made homemade pie. We baked dinner rolls. We made a turkey. We ate a turkey. We did some online shopping. We played in the park with P. We went to a birthday party for one of P's friends. We had our two and a half year check-up. We got our flu shots. We started decorating our tree.

We continued potty training. We went to the library. We ate at our favorite diner. We decorated a box with stickers. We did the flag puzzle many times. We bought a friend who P named Yabbi.

We tossed a couch that was in desperate need of tossing. We got a new sideboard to use as a shoe rack. We cleared the kitchen island. We donated many bags of old shoes and coats.

All of which is a good lead-in to my Thanksgiving list.

I am thankful for P and Mr. mouse...

for P's health and continued development, for the things she says and the things she does, for how hard she tries, for how brave she is, for her laughs and smiles, for snuggling with her while we read bedtime stories, for the hugs she gives, for the kisses she gives, for playing together and for all the things we do together that somehow make it all worth it...

for Mr. mouse's health and happiness, for the time he spends with P, for the time he spends keeping the house in order, for the time he spends keeping our life in order and for the things he does without asking for anything in return...

for the health and happiness of my friends and family, people who make me laugh, who make me think, who love P unconditionally, who are there even if I don't see them everyday...

for work, although it may not always be gratifying, it pays the bills and allows us to save for the future, and gives us the flexibility to do the things we do...

for a common approach to life, where we recognize that life is complex and complicated, but we're both okay with consistently trying to simplify it - neither of us have the ambition to be more than we are, both of us agree that more money does not equate to more happiness, and that allows all three of us to enjoy the day-by-day pleasures that life gives if you take the moment to enjoy them.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: P's answer? She is "happy for" dada. And, after much prompting and prodding, she is also "happy for" mama (the terms of endearment she uses when she wants to show affection.)

I Would Like...

Dear Friends and Family,

P is growing up quickly. I knew from watching kids in her classroom that somewhere between two and three, kids go from distinctly toddler-like to distinctly no-longer-a-toddler. How's that for a categorization?

There's the speaking. There's the body proportions. There's the potty training. There's the confidence in running and jumping. There's the ability to listen.

And, apparently, for P, there's the ordering at a restaurant. She's been wanting to see the menu for some time now. But, last week she started wanting to order. The first time, she echoed Mr. mouse in the background. Then, on Sunday, she ordered her own cheese pizza. And, last night, she ordered soup.

And, on Sunday, when the waitress came to collect plates, she handed hers over and said, "I'm done." And, tried to do the same yesterday.

Distinctly no longer a toddler.


Cheers!
mouse

11.21.11: I Went Pee Pee on the Potty, Dada

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes. We had a play date. Yes. We went to see Trixie for her birthday party.

But, yes, the highlight of our weekend was the start of toilet training. P came home with a sticker on Thursday for using the toilet after nap. Then, she came home with four stickers for using the toilet all day Friday.

So, we tried to continue the toilet thing all weekend. We had some luck, but we're glad we kept her in diapers since it was a hectic weekend with times we forgot to ask her if she needed to go and times she didn't want to go in unfamiliar places.

But, it's a start. And, we've got a less hectic Thanksgiving, so we'll try to continue the process over the long weekend.

I won't even begin to talk about how it makes her seem even more grown up than she already does.


Cheers!
mouse

Over-Thinking to Avoid Over-Committing

Dear Friends and Family,

8 days. 8 days. I must make it through the next 8 days until Thanksgiving weekend. And, I must commit to not doing this craziness next year. I've been thinking of a weekend calendar so we don't over commit.

Breaking the year into four quarter with 13 weeks apiece... Then,

1:
2: housecleaning, manicure
3:
4: housecleaning
5: haircut, wax, manicure
6: housecleaning
7:
8: housecleaning, manicure
9:
10: housecleaning
11: haircut, wax, manicure
12: housecleaning
13:

Now, I just need to lay this up against our calendar for 2012 and see what other commitments we have. Weekends 1, 3, 7, 9, and 13 are free for travel. The other weekends are local, ideally. I think if we lay it out in advance, then the likelihood of doing something like we did this past month will go down and I won't be chanting 8 more days.


Cheers!
mouse

Piling Up

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been several weekends we've been out of town. And, we have a couple more social commitments to get through between now and Thanksgiving. Which means, Thanksgiving will be our first real break from the craziness that has been our fall. And, after Thanksgiving, we have the holidays coming at us full force - with family visits, presents, more social commitments, stuff for P's teachers, and the list goes on.

It's beginning to pile up and I realize I'm going to need to be meticulous with the to do list to come out of this in one piece.

First to do on the list? Winter boots for P. Time to go look on-line.


Cheers!
mouse

11.14.11: River City Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

We went out to Portland to celebrate the joint birthday weekend.

The flight seemed amazingly short after our Tran-Atlantic trips. And, we had a good two days out there thanks to a vacation day on Friday.

Friday, we hit the food trucks for lunch. Mr. mouse and I had a combination of burger with guacamole and cactus which was delicious, an Indian vegetarian plate lunch which was standard and a Chinese noodle dish with a nice kick of pepper. We bought noodles and chicken for P, but also bought a back-up chicken and rice.

Friday, for dinner, we had conveyor belt sushi followed by self-serve frozen yogurt.

Saturday, breakfast, Voodoo doughnuts. Lunch, Bridgeport Ale House. Snack, Stumptown Coffee. Dinner, L+L Hawaiian. Dessert, birthday cake.

Sunday, leftovers in the hotel room.

In between eating, we enjoyed the book store, the toy store, the park, the hotel pool and walking the rainy streets of Portland's colorful neighborhoods. And, in between the walking and eating, it was nice catching up with our friends and remembering that there is life outside the confines of the here and now here in the Windy City (which beckons with a reminder that it is Monday morning and I do have an early morning meeting).

But, before I leave... The foliage in Portland was gorgeous. Tons of maples in glorious shades of pink, peach, orange, yellow and red. Stunning.


Cheers!
mouse

Short Week

Dear Friends and Family,

One week off. Four days back. Two days off. Four days back. Three days off.

Yes. It's the end of the year and I am determined to use my vacation days this year. And, since it's the middle of November, that means there'll be a couple of long weekends thrown into the mix.

I have to say with the dark and now the cold, I feel like hibernating for a couple of months and resurfacing in spring. I've been giving some thought recently to what my "ideal" day would look like. In my fantasy world...

05:00 - 07:00 my time
07:00 - 08:00 everyone gets ready for the day
08:00 - 08:30 commute and drop off P
08:30 - 05:00 work
05:00 - 05:30 pick up P and drive home
05:30 - 06:30 unwind and play
06:30 - 07:30 cook and eat dinner
07:30 - 09:30 unwind and play
09:30 - 10:00 everyone gets ready for bed
10:00 - 05:00 sleep

Currently, it's:

04:30 - 05:45 my time (-45 minutes)
05:45 - 06:30 everyone gets ready for the day (-15 minutes)
06:30 - 08:00 commute and drop off P (+ 1 hour)
08:00 - 05:30 work (+1 hour)
05:30 - 07:30 pick up P and drive home (+1.5 hours)
07:30 - 08:00 unwind and play (-30 minutes)
08:00 - 08:30 cook and eat dinner (-30 minutes)
08:30 - 09:30 unwind and play (-1 hour)
09:30 - 10:00 everyone gets ready for bed (same)
10:00 - 04:30 sleep (-30 minutes)

Now, I just need to find a way to work towards my fantasy world.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse vs. Food

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes. I am still waiting for the ah-ha moment that motivates me to lose the weight I have put on since becoming a mother. I would call it baby weight, but it isn't. This isn't weight from being pregnant. This is weight from being distracted, low on time, dealing with traffic, putting dinner on the table for P, food is lying around the office when I need a break weight.

I need to face hunger in the face and face it down. I need to be okay with it. I will not starve to death. I will be okay.

I have given myself until the end of my granola bar supply (which is a week or so away) to continue with my current approach - two glasses of milk for breakfast, some carbohydrate with one serving meat and one serving vegetable for lunch, three servings of fruit and one serving of nuts for a snack. After my granola bars run out, I will add two servings of vegetables with cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack.

Who eats this much food and is still hungry?!?!

Today, I will face down hunger and win. I am stronger than you, hunger.


Cheers!
mouse

Entities: Legal and Tax

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, is it ever complicated. When do I get to the fun part?

Somehow, I think a lot of entrepreneurs gloss over this part and then wish they hadn't. So, here's what I've learned so far.

There's two decisions that need to be made in conjunction that define your business. There's the tax entity decision which tax people like the IRS care about. You've got three choices - sole proprietorship, partnership, some variant of corporation. Then, there's the legal entity decision which lawyers care about. As risk adverse as I am, it has to be some form of limited liability company. There's no way I want somebody to be able to go after my personal assets if this fails. Conversely, I don't want somebody to be able to go after my business assets if I fail. And, that's where it gets complicated.

A limited liability company is a legal entity, but not a tax entity. If you're a limited liability company with one member, you're a single member limited liability company. Makes sense. Your taxes are filed as a "disregarded entity" and you go from there. But, it seems like the legal protection of a single member limited liability company is a lot less than a partnership or a corporation. After all, are you really that different from a sole proprietorship, really?

If you're a limited liability company with two or more members, you can be a partnership or a corporation. Only problem is, I'm doing this alone now since my partner bailed. So, a partnership doesn't make a ton of sense.

Which leaves me with a limited liability company filing as a corporation. The paperwork burden and legal burden is the most onerous with this combination. But, I don't think the other two options really give me what I need. Therefore, I think I'll be reading 805 ILS 180 - Limited Liability Company Act in detail to see what I need to know.


Cheers!
mouse

11.07.11: Interim Week

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a busy week in the mouse house. After being gone two weekends there was a ton to do. And, next weekend we're doing Mr. mouse's birthday. And, the weekend afterwards is some combination of play date, children's theater, Trixie's birthday and recuperation. And, the weekend after is Thanksgiving. How did that happen?

Saturday, we got the house cleaned. And, P and I returned library books and played in the park and ate lunch and shopped in a little corner grocery and dropped off our custom t-shirt order.

Sunday, we played in the park, picked up our t-shirts, and I napped while P and Mr. mouse went to Target. Then, while P napped, Mr. mouse and I rearranged the living room - we took down the baby gate and put the couch back to it's pre-toddler position and determined a wedge couch we have needs to go. One bag of old coats down, several bags to go. It's a never ending battle.

Last night, P and I read books on the couch and it felt so good to be in a room that seemed like a semi-adult room vs. a barricaded accommodation for barreling toddler.


Cheers!
mouse

Little Miss Neat

Dear Friends and Family,

P has book called Little Miss Neat. Little Miss Neat lives in Two Pin Cottage. And, her key to keeping things neat is that everything has its place and everything is in its place.

I need that. I desperately need that.

If everything was in its place, I would be happy. So, let's think about this for a moment.

There can be two problems. Something is not in its place or something does not have a place. Things not being in their place is easy to solve. Things not having a place is what gets me. Like, for instance, the car seat in the living room. It used to be in Mr. mouse's car (which we sold) and now we keep it in case we need it for a rental car.

It's in the living room for crying out loud! On the couch!

Clearly an item with no home. Now, if the car seat had a place I could move it there immediately. But, without a proper home for it, it sits on our couch waiting patiently for a home. What is the proper home for this current irritant?

Well, if placement is determined by where it's needed, I would say somewhere close to the front door makes sense. But, not the couch. I don't want it in sight, which would imply the coat closet is the right place for it, but that's valuable real estate for something that gets used two to four times a year which means it's need to be farther from it's logical home... long term storage... garage or basement... garage... which is full, so we need to find a home there. See, this is why we don't live in Two Pin Cottage.


Cheers!
mouse

Toddler to Pre-K

Dear Friends and Family,

An interesting thing happened while we were on vacation.

P went from toddler to pre-K. I know she's only two and a half, but in the span of a week the talking exploded, she figured out shoes, she leaned out, she told us she was hungry and thirsty, and just so many other things.

When I look at her pictures from a year ago, I see a toddler. When I look at her pictures from the trip, I see a pre-K kid. We're done with the baby years and now I have a sneaking suspicion we're done with the toddler years as well.

What's it like traveling with a two year old? Well, it went remarkably well. The trick, I think, is avoiding the red eyes. They don't sleep well, you don't sleep at all, and everyone's off schedule for a day trying to adjust.

Instead, we took a day flight to Europe that left mid-morning and landed mid-evening. I know, that means we lose a day in transit, but think about it this way...

Everyone gets up and does last minute trip prep. You go to the airport and get on a plane. You spend a long time on the plane. You get your bags, you go to the hotel, you check in, you eat dinner, you go to sleep. Doesn't sound bad, does it?

In comparison. Everyone gets up, spends a full day doing their day routine. You go to the airport and get on a plane. You eat a late dinner. You spend a long time on the plane when everyone should be sleeping, but no one is really sleeping. You get your bags, you go to the hotel, you check in, you should leave for the day because it's morning in Europe, but instead you go to sleep (effectively losing the day you gained by going on the night flight) and when you wake up, you're officially jet lagged because you're still on home time, not on local time.

See my point?

It was never an issue for Mr. mouse and me. We don't get jet lag. But, we didn't want to make that assumption for P. She was off one night (the second night of our trip) when we put her in a pack and play, she woke in the middle of the night and needed care before falling back asleep.

On the way back, we did the same thing almost. We got on a plane mid-morning. We came home. We stayed outside the whole day to avoid falling asleep. We went to sleep earlier than normal, but within the bounds of reasonable. And, we've been on local time since.


Cheers!
mouse

Thanksgiving on My Mind

Dear Friends and Family,

Trip download coming, I promise.

But, today, I have Thanksgiving on my mind because it just dawned on me yesterday that it is just a couple of weeks away. And, I'm thinking about how to make it more healthy.

What's on the menu from last Thanksgiving?

1. turkey (turkey, olive oil, salt, pepper)
2. ham (ham)
3. gravy (turkey drippings, flour, turkey stock, milk, salt, pepper)
4. home baked bread (flour, yeast, salt)
5. mashed potatoes (potatoes, butter, milk, salt, pepper)
6. stuffing
7. green bean casserole
8. candied sweet potatoes
9. corn (corn)
10. cranberry relish
11. apple pie
12. ice cream (egg, sugar, cream, milk, vanilla)

So, choices on a dish to make more healthy? Let's see... Which ones have processed ingredients? Stuffing has sausage, green bean casserole has cream of mushroom soup and fried onions, and candied sweet potatoes have marshmallows.

Sadly, I guess green bean casserole should be the one to get remade. And, if I'm going to remake it, I might as well think about it and look for some inspiration. Can I make it in five ingredients or else? Can I make it vegan? Can I make it gluten free? Can I make it nut free? Can I make it low fat? low salt? low carb? Yes, I'm sure I can make a vast leap from green bean casserole to a new green bean dish that is going to be a fabulous add to our Thanksgiving feast.


Cheers!
mouse

Retirement Review

Dear Friends and Family,

No worries. We're alive and I haven't abandoned my journal.

We went... on... vacation!

But, I'm not going to try and write about that today because I have close to a dozen posts in mind that I need to organize.

So, instead, since it's the last day of the month, I'll do a retirement review.

Needless to say, October was a good month for the mouse retirement fund almost erasing the dismal performance of sad September. More than just erasing a month of bad news, it shows a reversal of trend. Instead of decreasing each month, and more disturbingly, decreasing at an increasing rate, October was a sign that it is worth it to keep investing. There will be times where it's tough to stomach, but, with retirement being a long term strategy, retirement planning is a long term exercise as well.

The retirement range? Now it's between January 2019 and January 2023.


Cheers!
mouse